♦  ♦  H.C.WILLIAMS -►^ 


CUO'A 


The  Revelation 
of  Jesus  Christ 

A  Study  of  the  Apocalypse 


^^h 


^    By 

H.   G.    WILLIAMS 


"Blessed  is  he  that  readeth,  and  they  that  hear  the 
words  of  the  prophecy,  and  keep  the  things  that  are 
written  therein:  for  the  time  is  at  hand."— Rev.  1: 3. 


CINCINNATI 

I«f  STANDARD  PUBLISHING  GOMPANY 


Copyright,  1917 
The  Standard  Publishing  Company 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

Preface    5 

Introductory  Essay — Prophecy 7 

I.     Preliminary  Examination 37 

PART    I. 

11.     Vision  of  the  Golden  Candlesticks.  .     47 

III.  Letters  to  the  Seven  Churches 61 

PART    II. 

IV.  Vision  of  Heaven  through  an  Open 

Door 79 

V.     Opening  the  Sealed  Book 96 

VI.     Opening  of  the  Christian  Seals.  ...   115 
VII.     The    Seventh    Seal    and   the    Four 

Winds   137 

VIII.     The  Three  Woe  Angels 152 

IX.     The  Angel  with  the  Open  Book 174 

X.     Temple  Measured 187 

PART    III. 

XI.  The  Woman  and  the  Dragon 207 

XII.  The  Wild  Beasts 227 

XIII.  The  Decline  of  the  Papacy 250 

XIV.  Destruction  of  Babylon  the  Great.  .  284 
XV.  Zion's  Glad  Morning 321 

XVI.    The  Times  and  the  Seasons 337 

Meaning    of    the    More    Important 

Symbols   361 

Topical  Index 369 

8 


PREFACE 

THIS  book  is  not  published  to  exploit  any  new. 
theory,  but  to  aid,  if  possible,  the  great  mass 
of  the  people,  who  are  groping  their  way  in  the  dark- 
ness, seeking  the  light,  but  finding  it  not ;  hungering 
for  the  truths  of  Gkxl's  word,  but  not  apprehend- 
ing them.  Feeling  that  God  would  not  reveal  him- 
self in  a  manner  that  man  could  not  understand,  the 
writer  has  devoted  many  years  to  a  patient  study  of 
the  symbolism  of  the  Scripture.  He  has  tried  faith- 
fully to  comply  with  the  injunction  of  Isaiah:  "To 
the  law  and  to  the  testimony!  if  they  speak  not  ac- 
cording to  this  word,  surely  there  is  no  morning  for 
them."  The  Bible  gives  the  divine  interpretation  of 
every  symbol  used  in  the  prophetic  portions  of  the 
Scripture.  The  understanding  of  the  imagery  of 
any  prophet  is  simply  a  matter  of  discovering  the 
Scriptural  usage  of  the  symbols  employed.  The 
Book  of  Revelation  is  easily  the  most  precious  and 
vital  volume  of  the  Scripture  to  the  child  of  God. 
It  is  from  Revelation,  alone,  that  the  rays  of  light 
must  come  to  light  up  the  pathway  of  mankind 
through  the  ever-deepening  gloom  of  the  present 
time.  It  reveals  all  of  the  events  connected  with  the 
Christian  dispensation  from  the  time  of  the  visions 
until  Jesus  comes. 

When   the  beautiful   imagery   has   been    under- 

5 


PREFACE 

stood  according  to  the  divine  usage,  the  matter  of 
its  fulfillment  is  simply  that  of  placing  the  Scripture 
record  side  by  side  with  authentic  history,  for 
prophecy  is  history  in  anticipation.  The  fulfillment 
of  many  of  the  prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament  is 
found  in  the  New  Testament,  but  the  events  which 
John  wrote  of  were  to  be  fulfilled  centuries  after 
the  Bible  was  complete.  History  must  come  to  our 
aid,  therefore.  The  results  are  striking.  Faith 
grows  by  leaps  and  bounds  as  event  after  event  is 
found  to  be  the  accurate  fulfillment  of  that  which 
had  been  foretold. 

The  second  purpose  in  publishing  this  book  is 
the  hope  that  it  will  so  simplify  this  remarkable,  but 
unread,  prophecy  that  many  who  have  thought  it  a 
mystery  will  turn  to  its  blessed  pages  and  have  their 
lives  enriched  by  their  study.  The  author  is  indebted 
to  many  minds  of  various  opinions,  but  most  of  all  to 
the  heavenly  Father  and  to  his  precious  word,  of 
which  David  said:  "Thy  word  is  a  lamp  unto  my 
feet,  and  a  light  unto  my  path."  Having  found  this 
subject  of  interest  to  thousands  of  people  during  a 
busy  ministry,  the  author  commends  its  patient,  rev- 
erent study  to  all  of  his  brethren  in  the  ministry, 
that  all  of  those  for  whom  Christ  died  might  be 
ready  and  waiting  for  the  coming  of  the  King. 

Lincoln,  Nebraska.  H.  C.  Williams. 


INTRODUCTORY  ESSAY 
PROPHECY 

THE  Bible  is  the  most  marvelous  and  wonderful 
book  in  all  of  the  world's  literature.  It  is 
unique.  It  is  in  a  class  by  itself.  When  Walter 
Scott  lay  dying,  he  said  to  his  servant:  "Bring  me 
the  book."  On  being  asked  what  book  was  meant, 
he  replied :  "The  Bible.  There  is  no  book  but  the 
Bible."  The  characteristic  that  distinguishes  the 
Bible,  and  renders  it  unique,  is  the  divine  element 
which  surcharges  every  page.  The  mighty  theme  of 
redemption,  unfolded  step  by  step  with  ever-increas- 
ing clearness,  from  creation's  dawn  through  the 
changing  centuries  and  millenniums  to  its  glorious 
climax  in  the  Book  of  Revelation,  reveals  a  unity  of 
thought  and  purpose  which  could  come  only  from 
the  mind  of  God.  "Remember  the  former  things  of 
old:  for  I  am  God,  and  there  is  none  else;  I  am 
God,  and  there  is  none  like  me ;  declaring  the  end 
from  the  beginning,  and  from  ancient  times  things 
that  are  not  yet  done"  (Isa.  46:9,  10).  Men  live 
and  die,  and  their  books  are  discarded  by  the  suc- 
ceeding generation.  The  theories  held  as  most  surely 
true  by  writers  of  one  century  become  obsolete  and 
are  contradicted  by  the  thinkers  of  the  succeeding 
century.     This  is  not  so  with  the  Bible,  although  it 

7 


INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY 


was  v/ritten  by  about  forty  different  authors  during 
a  period  of  sixteen  centuries.  It  is  like  a  wall  laid 
course  upon  course.  Each  succeeding  layer  of  stone 
would  be  impossible  without  the  preceding  layers 
upon  which  to  rest.  The  New  Testament,  with  its 
characteristics  that  mark  it  as  so  different  from  the 
Old  Testament,  declares  that  "one  jot  or  one  tittle 
shall  in  no  wise  pass  away  from  the  law,  till  all 
things  be  accomplished"  (Matt.  5:18).  The  Old 
Testament  is  the  foundation  upon  which  the  New 
Testament  rests.  The  New  is  the  fulfilling  and  un- 
folding of  the  Old,  and  would  be  impossible  without 
the  Old.  '*So  that  the  law  is  become  our  tutor  to 
bring  us  unto  Christ,  that  we  might  be  justified  by 
faith"  (Gal.  3:24).  This  harmonious  outgrowth  of 
each  succeeding  portion  from  the  preceding  one 
reveals  the  hand  of  one  master  Builder  who  laid 
"line  upon  line  and  precept  upon  precept"  until  the 
completed  book  revealed  "the  whole  counsel  of 
God."  There  is  about  the  Bible  a  grandeur  of  con- 
ception and  a  sublimity  of  expression  beyond  human 
ability.  There  is  a  potency  in  the  book  that  trans- 
forms the  lives  of  individuals  and  changes  the  char- 
acter of  nations.  The  book  is  possessed  of  a  vitaHty 
which  has  preserved  it  to  the  present  time  despite 
the  fiercest  assaults  of  the  combined  forces  of  evil. 
There  is  a  purity  so  transcendent  and  a  morality  so 
comprehensive,  pervading  the  teaching  of  the  Bible, 
that  could  come  only  from  the  mind  of  God.  Above 
all,  the  Bible  is  unique  because  it  reveals  the  Man 
whose  perfections  are  divine,  defying  the  ability  of 
the  most  gifted  human  intellect  to  create.    He  is  the 


INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY 


heart  and  body  of  the  book.  He  is  the  one  who 
satisfies  the  soul-hunger  of  the  human  race.  When 
the  world  was  young,  Job  felt  the  need  of  a  "days- 
man" or  an  "umpire"  to  stand  betwixt  him  and  Grod. 
All  of  the  prophets  longed  to  see  him,  "searching 
what  time  or  what  manner  of  time  the  Spirit  of 
Christ  which  was  in  them  did  point  to,  when  it  tes- 
tified beforehand  the  sufferings  of  Christ,  and  the 
glories  that  should  follow  them"  (1  Pet.  1:11).  The 
aged  Simeon  might  well  say,  "Now  lettest  thou  thy 
servant  depart,  Lord,"  for  there  is  nothing  more  for 
the  human  heart  to  desire  but  to  stand  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  King  of  kings.  He  is  the  Rose  of 
Sharon,  the  Lily  of  the  valley,  the  bright  and  morn- 
ing Star.  His  name  and  mighty  works  diffuse  the 
pages  of  this  sacred  book  with  ineffable  glory,  and 
its  far-streaming  light  guides  the  storm-tossed  mari- 
ner to  the  haven  on  the  eternal  shore. 

No  book  is  like  the  Bible.  It  is  God's  will  made 
known  to  "holy  men  of  old,"  and  transmitted  to  us 
as  they  were  "moved  by  the  Holy  Spirit."  It  "is 
able  to  make  one  wise  unto  salvation"  and  "furnishes 
completely  unto  every  good  work."  Its  treasures 
are  rich  and  inexhaustible.  The  further  one  fathoms 
its  depths,  the  brighter  and  more  resplendent  are  the 
jewels  of  truth  discovered.  Peasant  and  king,  the 
simple  and  the  savant,  the  weak  and  the  powerful, 
drink  alike  of  its  refreshing  streams,  and  rejoice. 
Wise  is  the  man  who  reverently  searches  the  Scrip- 
tures with  a  prayer  for  guidance,  for  the  eyes  of  his 
understanding  will  be  opened  and  his  life  will  be 
enriched. 

0 


INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY 


The  Bible  contains  history  and  poetry.  The 
mighty  deeds  of  the  heroes  of  the  dim  and  distant 
past  are  emblazoned  there  that  all  generations  might 
know  how  the  fabric  of  our  civilization  has  been 
woven.  There  we  see  the  divine  hand  deftly  work- 
ing into  the  warp  and  woof  of  human  history  the 
cords  made  scarlet  with  the  blood  and  sacrifice  of 
men  of  faith  and  of  the  Man  of  Galilee.  From  the 
loom  of  the  ages  a  tapestry  appears  wherein  he  has 
woven,  out  of  the  tangled  skeins  of  the  national  life 
of  all  peoples,  wondrous  figures,  shaping  and  fash- 
ioning them  according  to  his  own  will.  The  ear 
attuned  to  the  melody  of  the  infinite  will  there  catch 
the  sweetest  strains  of  song  that  ever  fell  from 
human  lips.  There  the  divinest  harmonies,  swept 
from  harp-strings  by  angel  hands,  give  us  a  fore- 
taste of  the  !:eavenly  music  that  shall  thrill  the  re- 
deemed in  the  celestial  city.  There  thought  divine 
is  voiced  in  sublimest  phrase. 

The  Bible  contains  biography  and  letters  of  in- 
struction. In  no  other  book  can  one  find  truer 
records  of  the  lives  of  men  than  these  found  in  the 
sacred  Scripture.  They  reveal  the  fault  and  imper- 
fection as  faithfully  as  the  commendable  traits  of 
character.  These  men  whose  names  have  been 
snatched  from  oblivion  and  placed  in  the  divine 
scroll  of  fame  by  the  Scripture  writers  are  the  ones 
who  have  wrought  for  the  betterment  of  humanity 
and  have  made  possible  the  hope  of  eternal  life. 
The  books  of  instruction  open  up  to  all  mankind 
the  glorious  privileges  of  the  gospel,  and  guide  men 
in   their  conduct   toward  each  other   as   "they   are 

10 


INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY 


transformed   into   the   same   image    from    glory   to 
glory,  even  as  by  the  Lord  the  Spirit." 

The  Bible  contains  prophecy.  The  subject-matter 
of  eighteen  of  the  sacred  books  of  the  Scripture  is 
predictive.  Here  we  find  the  record  of  the  visions 
of  prophets  and  seers  who  foretold  events,  and  the 
movement  of  men  and  nations,  centuries  and  millen- 
niums before  they  occurred.  These  prophetic  rec- 
ords give  information  that  only  God  could  know, 
and  their  exact  and  complete  fulfillment  is  the  seal 
and  guarantee  of  the  entire  book.  Prophecy  is  the 
impregnable  fortress  that  the  hosts  of  Satan  can  not 
overthrow;  the  unfailing  bulwark  of  Christian  faith. 
At  the  present  time  there  is  a 
Prophecy  a  Neg-  ^^^^^^^^  ^o  ^,^^1^^^  the  study  of 
lected  Theme  ^^^  prophetical  portions  of  the 
Bible.  The  ministry,  as  well  as  the  great  mass  of 
professed  Christians,  seems  to  be  imbued  with  the 
idea  that  the  predictive  element  of  the  Scripture  de- 
fies reasonable  and  sane  interpretation,  and  that  it 
can  not  be  definitely  and  certainly  understood.  So 
much  has  this  spirit  taken  possession  of  the  Bible 
readers  of  the  present  time  that  these  eighteen  books 
might  as  well  have  been  translated  in  an  unknown 
tongue  or  left  out  of  the  Bib^^  entirely.  Their  mes- 
sages are  unknown,  their  warnings  are  unheeded 
and  their  rich  blessings  unclaimed,  because,  forsooth, 
we  are  obsessed  with  the  fallacious  notion  that  the 
heavenly  Father  would  mock  his  children  by  reveal- 
-ing  the  momentous  future  events  in  such  a  way  that 
they  could  not  be  understood.  As  a  result,  the  race 
has  lost  its  bearings.    Without  a  compass  or  a  chart 

11 


INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY 


humanity  drifts,  and,  being  unable  to  recognize  the 
meaning  of  the  gigantic  struggle  between  the  na- 
tions, can  not  determine  how  near  it  is  to  the  jour- 
ney's end. 

This  hesitancy  upon  the  part  of  Bible  readers 
to  investigate  prophecy  is  due  to  two  main  causes. 
First,  the  tendency  of  a  certain  class  of  theologians 
to  deny  the  miraculous  and  to  discard  all  Scripture 
which  can  not  be  explained  upon  a  rationalistic  basis. 
Whenever  these  men  utter  a  statement  it  is  usually 
buttressed  with  the  claim  that  "all  scholars  are 
agreed."  The  number  of  ministers  who  are  over- 
awed by  these  extravagant  claims,  and  hesitate  to 
investigate  independently  lest  they  should  be  thought 
unscholarly,  is  altogether  too  large.  Second,  proph- 
ecy has  been  brought  into  disrepute  because  of  the 
time-setting  propensities  of  so  many  misguided, 
though  conscientious,  people.  We  can  not  forget  the 
warning  that  "the  Scripture  plainly  foretold"  that 
the  "world  was  coming  to  an  end  in  1844,"  and 
again  in  1866  and  1870  and  1914.  The  fact  that  the 
world  still  moves  in  its  orbit  undisturbed  makes 
men  suspicious  of  all  claims  that  any  definite  infor- 
mation may  be  obtained  by  a  study  of  prophecy. 
Thus  one  of  the  portions  of  the  Scripture  of  most 
vital  importance  to  the  well-being  of  humanity  is 
being  neglected  by  the  masses  by  reason  of  mis- 
conception and  through  fear  of  ridicule. 

Our    minds     have    been     too 

easily  blinded  by  the  boastings  of 

rop  ecy  so-called   scholarship   and   by  the 

patent  blunders  of  professed  students  of  prophecy. 

12 


INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY 


A  little  consideration  will  bring  to  light  the  fact 
that  while  these  erred  as  to  the  character  of  the 
event  expected  to  happen  in  a  certain  year,  yet  by 
the  aid  of  prophecy  they  were  able  to  hit  upon 
those  years  in  which  events  vital  to  the  life  and 
progress  of  the  church,  as  well  as  to  mankind  at 
large,  occurred.  The  year  1844  was  the  one  in 
which  the  Ottoman  Government  was  compelled  to 
issue  a  decree  of  religious  toleration.  A  most  event- 
ful year  was  1866,  and  marked  the  struggle  between 
the  Papacy  and  Protestantism,  culminating  in  the 
events  of  four  years  later.  The  year  1870  was  a 
momentous  one  in  himian  history.  The  pretensions 
to  temporal  power  by  that  arch-conspirator  against 
Qirist  and  his  church — the  Pope  of  Rome — received 
their  death-blow  in  that  year.  He  was  forever 
bereft  of  temporal  power,  and  Rome,  with  its 
provinces,  was  incorporated  with  the  kingdom  of 
Italy,  Oct.  9,  1870.  The  year  1914  marked  the 
beginning  of  a  titanic  struggle  of  the  nations  of 
Europe.  Surely  that  portion  of  the  Scripture  which 
enables  men  to  point  out  unerringly  the  years  in 
which  crucial  changes  will  occur,  although  at  fault 
as  to  their  nature,  is  so  important  as  to  merit  the  most 
careful  and  reverent  study  by  all  men. 

Another  consideration  should  challenge  the 
thought  of  those  who  have  neglected  the  prophetic 
books.  The  Bible  is  God's  book.  The  predictive 
portions  did  not  "come  by  the  will  of  man."  The 
amount  of  space  devoted  to  a  subject  ought  to  be 
a  true  gauge  of  its  relative  importance  in  the  divine 
estimation.     Three- fourths  of  the  subject-matter  is 

18 


INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY 


devoted  to  prophecy.  In  addition  to  the  eighteen 
books  already  mentioned,  the  types  and  shadows  of 
the  Old  Testament  must  be  included  in  this  subject. 
The  lives  of  men  like  Adam  and  Joseph  and  Joshua 
are  but  pictures  of  One  to  come  in  the  future. 
Incidents  like  that  of  the  sacrifice  of  Isaac  look 
forward  to  a  future  event.  Even  the  events  con- 
nected with  the  journey  of  the  Jews  from  Egypt 
are  said  to  have  "happened  by  way  of  example." 
Most  of  the  wonderful  parables  of  Jesus  and  much 
of  his  teaching  are  predictive.  Many  of  the  state- 
ments of  Peter  and  Paul  are  concerning  events  in 
the  future.  If  prophecy  is  unimportant  and  can  not 
be  understood,  then  three-fourths  of  the  Bible  is 
useless  and  might  as  well  never  have  been  written. 
The  word  of  God  is  the  sword  of  the  Spirit.  If 
three-fourths  of  the  sword  can  not  be  used,  the 
remaining  one-fourth  can  do  but  little  execution. 
On  the  last  night  of  his  life  Jesus  prayed  for  his 
disciples,  saying:  "Sanctify  them  through  thy  truth: 
thy  word  is  truth"  (John  17:17).  The  Word  is 
the  means  through  which  sanctification  is  attained, 
and  if  three-fourths  of  the  Word  is  not  available  as 
a  sanctifying  power,  our  means  of  grace  is  limited 
indeed.  Prophecy  is  the  most  vital  subject  con- 
tained in  the  Scripture  record,  unless  we  challenge 
the  goodness  of  God  and  his  wisdom  in  devoting 
so  much  space  to  its  utterance.  The  love  of  God 
precludes  the  idea  of  a  useless  theme. 

A  third  consideration  emphasizing  the  importance 
of  prophecy  will  be  found  in  its  use  by  Jesus  and 
his  inspired  apostles.    A  striking  example  of  Jesus' 

14 


INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY 


use  of  prophecy  in  his  teaching  is  found  in  Luke 
4:16-21.  After  reading  from  the  prophet  Isaiah, 
he  closed  the  book  and  said:  "To-day  hath  this 
scripture  been  fulfilled  in  your  ears"  (v.  21). 
Basing  his  sermon  upon  the  definite  fulfillment  of 
prophecy,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  that  its  power 
should  be  apparent  and  that  his  hearers  should 
marvel  "at  the  words  of  grace  which  proceeded 
out  of  his  mouth."  Another  instance  is  found  in 
Luke  24 :  24-27.  When  Jesus  would  lay  an  ever- 
lasting foundation  for  the  faith  of  the  two  com- 
panions on  the  way  to  Emmaus,  he  chided  them 
for  their  failure  to  "believe  all  that  the  prophets 
have  spoken."  "And  beginning  from  Moses  and 
from  all  the  prophets,  he  interpreted  to  them  in  all 
the  scriptures  the  things  concerning  himself."  Num- 
bers of  similar  instances  of  Jesus'  use  of  prophecy 
may  be  found.  Matthew  continually  calls  attention 
to  the  fact  that  the  various  incidents  in  the  life  of 
Jesus  are  the  fulfillment  of  prophecy,  and  such 
expressions  as  "Then  was  fulfilled  that  which  was 
spoken  through  the  prophets,"  are  common.  When 
Peter  preached  the  first  gospel  sermon,  the  major 
portion  of  it  consisted  of  argument  that  the  proph- 
ecies of  Joel  and  David  had  been  fulfilled  in  the 
outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  in  the  resurrec- 
tion of  Jesus.  So  convincing  was  that  argument 
that  about  three  thousand  souls  obeyed  the  gospel. 
Again,  in  his  sermon  recorded  in  the  third  chapter 
of  Acts,  Peter  calls  to  witness  "all  of  the  prophets 
from  Samuel  and  them  that  followed  after."  The 
immediate  results  were  that  the  number  of  men  who 

15 


INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY 


believed  "came  to  be  about  five  thousand."  When 
Stephen  made  his  memorable  defense,  he  chose  two 
prophecies  as  the  climax  of  his  argument  (Acts 
7 :  42-50) .  When  Philip  would  win  the  Ethiopian 
for  Christ,  he  chose  Isaiah's  prophecy  of  the  suffer- 
ing Messiah  as  his  text.  When  Peter  would  preach 
the  gospel  to  ComeHus,  he  declared:  "To  him  bear 
all  of  the  prophets  witness,  that  through  his  name 
every  one  that  believeth  on  him  shall  receive  remis- 
sion of  sins."  Paul  had  recourse  to  the  prophecies 
of  the  Old  Testament,  and  uses  them  with  convinc- 
ing power  in  his  address  at  Antioch  in  Pisidia 
(Acts  13:16-42).  He  that  would  minimize  the 
importance  of  prophecy  has  failed  to  see  the  empha- 
sis placed  upon  it  by  the  Master  and  his  inspired 
teachers.  When  Christ's  church  is  to  be  built,  it 
is  upon  the  "foundation  of  the  apostles  and  prophets, 
Christ  Jesus  himself  being  the  chief  comer-stone" 
(Eph.  2:  20).  When  the  organization  of  the  church 
was  determined  upon,  "he  gave  some  to  be  apostles: 
and  some,  prophets,"  etc.  The  prophetic  function 
is  next  to  the  apostolic  in  the  church  of  Christ. 
The  glorious  light  of  prophecy  is  "as  unto  a  lamp 
shining  in  a  dark  place,"  and  "ye  do  well  that  ye 
take  heed  until  the  day  dawn,  and  the  day-star 
arise  in  your  hearts."  It  is  a  rich  blessing,  a 
precious  gift,  and  the  notion  that  the  prophecy  of 
the  Scripture  can  not  be  understood  is  fostered  by 
the  father  of  lies  to  impoverish  our  lives.  If  we 
fail  to  investigate  these  wonderful  revelations  of 
God  in  type,  s)mibol  and  vision,  we  have  denied 
ourselves   the   protection   of   one   of   the    strongest 


INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY 


fortresses  of   faith   and  the   sanctifying  power   of 
the  major  portion  of  God's  word. 

Before  any  intelligent  investi- 
Prophecy— Its        gation    of    the    subject    can    be 
Scope    and    Pur-  ,  r  •     •   i 

*^  made,   a    few   pnmary   prmciples 

must  be  well  in  mind.  Nothing 
is  more  essential  than  to  banish  all  preconceived 
ideas  and  reverently  accept  the  dictum  of  the 
Scripture.  "Where  the  Scriptures  speak,  we  speak; 
and  where  the  Scriptures  are  silent,  we  are  silent." 
The  Scripture  will  surely  speak  as  authoritatively 
upon  the  subject  of  prophecy  as  upon  the  subject 
of  the  "plan  of  salvation."  "To  the  law  and  to  the 
testimony!  if  they  speak  not  according  to  this  word, 
surely  there  is  no  morning  for  them"  (Isa.  8:20). 
Approaching  the  predictive  portion  of  the  Bible 
with  the  calm  and  unswerving  confidence  that  the 
heavenly  Father  would  not  reveal  unto  his  children 
things  which  would  be  of  no  advantage  for  them 
to  know,  and  without  providing  the  means  of 
understanding  them,  we  find  that  the  principles  of 
prophecy  unfold  upon  investigation  and  its  difficulty 
disappears  as  dew  before  the  morning  sun. 

"Surely  the  Lord  Jehovah  will  do  nothing, 
except  he  reveal  his  secret  unto  his  servants  the 
prophets"  (Amos  3:7).  The  assurance  given  us 
in  this  passage  is  definite  and  certain.  No  event 
which  concerns  the  interests  of  humanity,  and  with 
which  God  has  to  do,  will  ever  occur  without  God 
first  reveals  it  to  his  servants  the  prophets.  The 
rise  and  fall  of  nations,  as  these  affect  the  fortunes 
of    the    church,    and    all    of    God's    dealings    with 

2  17 


INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY 


the  redeemed  and  with  the  forces  of  sin,  are 
included  within  the  scope  of  the  prophetic  record. 
The  prophets  are  entrusted  v/ith  the  secret  of  the 
Lord's  doings  before  they  come  to  pass.  Now,  this 
store  of  wisdom  concerning  future  happenings  was 
not  committed  unto  the  prophets  for  their  own 
edification  and  information.  It  was  entrusted  to 
them  for  the  edification  and  instruction  of  others. 
This  is  indicated  in  an  incident  in  the  life  of 
Abraham  as  recorded  in  Gen.  18 :  17-33 :  "J^^^^^ah 
said,  Shall  I  hide  from  Abraham  that  which  I  do; 
seeing  that  Abraham  shall  surely  become  a  great 
and  mighty  nation,  and  all  the  nations  of  the  earth 
shall  be  blessed  in  him?"  It  was  because  God 
regarded  the  posterity  of  Abraham  that  he  made 
known  unto  him  the  destruction  of  Sodom  and  the 
cities  of  the  plain. 

That  the  revelation  vouchsafed  to  the  prophets 
was  not  given  for  the  benefit  even  of  the  generation 
in  which  they  wrote  is"  plainly  stated  in  1  Pet.  1 : 
10-12:  "Concerning  which  salvation  the  prophets 
sought  and  searched  diligently,  who  prophesied  of 
the  grace  that  should  come  unto  you:  searching 
what  time  or  what  manner  of  time  the  Spirit  of 
Christ  which  was  in  them  did  point  unto,  when  it 
testified  beforehand  the  sufferings  of  Christ,  and 
the  glories  that  should  follow  them.  To  whom  it 
was  revealed,  that  not  unto  themselves,  but  unto 
you,  did  they  minister  these  things."  This  passage 
of  Scripture  is  the  end  of  all  controversy.  We 
learn  from  it  the  following  facts: 

1.  That  the  things  written  in  prophecy  are  not 

18 


INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY 


the  results  of  human  invention  or  knowledge.  The 
Spirit  of  Christ  spoke  through  the  prophets.  This 
is  corroborated  by  2  Pet.  1 :  21 ;  "For  no  prophecy 
ever  came  by  the  will  of  man :  but  men  spake  from 
God,  being  moved  by  the  Holy  Spirit."  To  neglect 
the  patient  investigation  of  these  prophetic  messages 
is  to  neglect  the  words  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ.  To 
bring  discredit  upon  them  in  any  way  is  to  discredit 
the  Spirit  of  Christ. 

2.  We  learn  that  the  prophets  did  not  even  com- 
prehend their  own  writing. 

3.  We  find  that  the  information  given  to  the 
prophets  was  not  for  their  advantage  at  all,  but 
for  the  edification  of  generations  still  in  the  future. 

We  of  this  glorious  dispensation  are  the  heirs 
of  all  the  ages.  The  treasure-house  of  prophetic 
truth  is  stored  with  the  wisdom  of  the  Spirit  of 
Christ.  Its  riches  have  not  been  disturbed  nor 
dissipated.  They  remain  intact  as  our  inheritance. 
We  have  but  to  open  the  door  to  enter  into  the  full 
enjoyment  of  what  God  has  revealed.  With  special 
reference  to  the  Book  of  Revelation,  the  angel 
which  "signified"  it  pronounced  a  blessing  upon 
those  who  would  study  it,  saying:  "Blessed  is  he 
that  readeth,  and  they  that  hear  the  words  of  the 
prophecy,  and  keep  the  things  that  are  written 
therein:  for  the  time  is  at  hand"  (Rev.  1:3). 

Again,  another  passage  of  Scripture  gives  us  an 
indication  of  the  scope  and  purpose  of  prophecy. 
"The  secret  things  belong  unto  Jehovah  our  God; 
but  the  things  that  are  revealed  belong  unto  us  and 
to  our  children  for  ever,  that  we  may  do  all  tlie 

10 


INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY 


words  of  this  law"  (Deut.  29:29).  The  scope  of 
our  study  is  here  limited  to  "the  things  which  are 
revealed."  We  can  make  no  inquiry  into  that  which 
has  not  been  foretold,  for  the  "secret  things  belong 
to  God."  The  failures  of  so  many  in  the  past  have 
been  due  to  their  eagerness  to  work  out  the  details 
of  future  events  which  have  not  been  revealed. 
"The  day  and  the  hour"  of  the  coming  of  the  Son 
of  man  is  known  only  to  the  mind  of  God.  How- 
ever, the  things  that  have  been  foretold  "belong  to 
us  and  our  children  for  ever."  We  have  the  right 
and  privilege  of  investigating  and  using  all  that 
belongs  to  us.  We  notice  that  what  has  been  fore- 
told belongs  to  us  for  a  purpose — "that  we  may  do 
all  the  works  of  this  law."  The  knowledge  of  that 
which  has  been  foretold  enables,  strengthens  and 
helps  us  to  do  the  will  of  God,  and  it  is  especially 
noted  that  that  which  is  revealed  "belongs"  to  the 
chosen  people  of  God. 

The  development  of  faith  is  the  clearly  expressed 
purpose  of  prophecy,  as  is  stated  by  Jesus  himself: 
"And  now  I  have  told  you  before  it  come  to  pass, 
that,  when  it  is  come  to  pass,  ye  may  believe"  (John 
14:29).  What  need  we,  who  are  buffeted  on  every 
side,  more  than  faith?  Living  in  an  age  of  careless 
indifference  to  divine  things  and  of  the  extravagant 
boastings  of  scholarship,  no  greater  boon  could  be 
desired  than  that  of  the  strong  assurance  that  God 
still  lives  and  is  ordering  the  movements  of  men 
and  nations  according  to  his  will,  and  to  the  eternal 
redemption  of  his  children  through  Christ  Jesus. 
Within  the  household  of  faith  perverse  men  have 

20 


INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY 


arisen,  who  through  feigned  words  are  attempting 
to  destroy  its  foundations.  We  live  in  a  grand  and 
awful  age,  when  all  of  the  power  of  Satan  will  be 
exercised  in  his  death-struggle  to  maintain  his  rule 
over  the  souls  of  men.  It  is  not  strange,  then,  that 
"in  the  later  times  some  shall  depart  from  the 
faith,"  nor  that  the  Master  should  look  forward  to 
the  days  in  which  we  live,  and  say  with  such  mani- 
fest anxiety:  "Nevertheless,  when  the  Son  of  man 
Cometh,  shall  he  find  faith  on  the  earth?"  It  will 
be  fruitless  for  us  to  pray,  "Lord,  increase  our 
faith,"  if  we  neglect  the  divinely  appointed  means 
for  the  development  of  faith.  Prophecy  is  the 
mighty  fortress  in  which  the  Christian's  faith  is 
secure.  The  human  mind  must  yield  to  the  con- 
vincing power  of  the  fulfillment  of  prophecy.  If  we 
can  place  our  finger  upon  events  that  are  occurring 
now,  and  which  were  clearly  predicted  millenniums 
ago,  no  storm  can  shake  the  faith  which  has  been 
begotten  in  the  Bible  as  God's  book,  and  in  the 
Christ  of  the  Bible  as  our  Saviour,  and  in  the 
promises  of  the  Bible  which  belong  to  us. 

We  need  comfort  also.  What  would  the  world, 
with  its  burden-bearing,  its  bitter  disappointments, 
and  its  sorrow,  be  without  comfort?  Prophecy 
comes  to  us  as  the  divine  source  of  comfort.  After 
giving  in  brief  outline  the  events  leading  up  to  and 
including  the  first  resurrection  and  the  union  of  the 
saints  with  their  Lord,  Paul  says:  "Wherefore, 
comfort  one  another  with  these  words"  (1  Thess. 
4 :  18) .  We  need  light.  Darkness  like  a  pall 
enshrouds  our  pathway.     We  can  not  choose  our 

21 


INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY 


steps  unaided.  We  can  not,  with  our  mortal  eyes, 
future.  We  have  the  "word  of  prophecy  made 
penetrate  the  veil  that  hides  the  hour  yet  in  the 
more  sure:  whereunto  ye  do  well  that  ye  take  heed, 
as  unto  a  lamp  shining  in  a  dark  place,  until  the 
day  dawn,  and  the  day-star  arise  in  your  hearts." 
Prophecy  is  the  lamp  placed  in  our  hands,  and 
whose  far-streaming  light  reveals  the  signboards 
along  the  heavenly  highway.  Its  gleam  even  reaches 
to  the  walls  and  the  towers  of  the  new  Jerusalem, 
and  bathes  it  in  a  halo  of  glory.  We  are  to  use 
this  lamp  for  our  guidance  all  through  the  dark 
night  and  until  the  dawn  of  the  glorious  day  when 
"we  shall  be  like  him,  for  we  shall  see  him  as  he 
is."  Not  until  we  stand  within  the  gates  of  the 
city  will  we  have  no  need  for  the  "lamp"  of 
prophecy  to  dissipate  the  world's   spiritual  gloom. 

The  subject  of  prophecy  pre- 

How  to  Under-  ^    i.     ^t.         •    j     r  xt. 

sents  to  the  mmd  of  the  average 

rop  ecy  Christian  many  difficulties  that 
have  no  real  basis  in  fact,  but  are  imaginary.  He 
has  witnessed  the  failure  of  many  vaunted  claims 
of  accurate  knowledge  of  this  portion  of  the  Bible, 
and  has  read  so  many  contradictory  interpretations, 
that  he  feels  that  it  is  a  forbidden  field.  While  we 
would  not  minimize  the  real  difficulties  encountered 
in  any  careful  study  of  prophecy,  yet  those  which 
appear  so  forbidding  to  the  majority  of  Bible 
readers  are  only  superficial  and  will  disappear  before 
patient  and  persistent  examination  and  study.  Once 
these  are  swept  away  and  the  treasures  of  God's 
message   are   revealed,   the   soul   of   man   responds 

22 


INTRODUCTORY   ESSAY 


with  a  new-born  faith  that  can  bear  all  things  until 
"his  appearing  and  his  kingdom."  Like  Jason,  who 
encountered  the  brazen  bulls  in  his  quest  for  the 
Golden  Fleece  and  conquered  them  by  a  simple 
expedient,  so  the  reader  of  prophecy,  by  boldly 
facing  the  obstacles  to  his  search,  will  find  himself 
in  possession  of  a  reward  greater  than  that  which 
inspired  the  Argonauts  of  the  long  ago. 

To  declare  that  prophecy  is  incomprehensible  and 
not  susceptible  to  investigation  is  to  impugn  many 
of  the  plainest  statements  of  the  Scripture.  Some 
of  these  fell  from  the  lips  of  Spirit-filled  apostles, 
and  some  were  uttered  by  the  Son  of  God  himself. 
Two  disciples  of  Jesus  were  journeying  to  Emmaus. 
The  Master  joined  them,  and  during  the  conver- 
sation he  said:  "O  foolish  men,  and  slow  of  heart 
to  believe  in  all  that  the  prophets  have  spoken."  It 
is  inconceivable  that  he  would  thus  chide  these  men 
for  their  ignorance  of  the  prophecies  that  had  gone 
before,  if  they  could  not  be  understood.  In  the 
incident  of  Dives  and  Lazarus,  Abraham  is  repre- 
sented as  saying  to  his  petitioner:  "They  have 
Moses  and  the  prophets;  let  them  hear  them."  It 
would  be  a  harsh  and  unreasonable  thing  to  demand 
that  the  eternal  salvation  of  these  five  brothers 
should  depend  on  an  intelligent  comprehension  of 
the  instruction  of  Moses  and  the  prophets,  if  such 
was  impossible.  The  injunction  of  the  apostle 
Peter  to  take  heed  to  prophecy,  "as  unto  a  lamp 
shining  in  a  dark  place,"  would  be  equally  unreason- 
able if  its  message  is  unintelligible.  We  have, 
therefore,  the  Scripture  warrant  for  our  investiga- 

23 


INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY 


tion,  although  some  may  question  our  mental  poise 
on  the  one  hand,  or  difficulties  seem  insurmountable 
on  the  other. 

The  proper  way  to  enter  a  house  is  to  find  the 
door,  and,  if  it  does  not  respond  to  our  efforts  to 
open  it,  apply  the  key  and  unlock  it.  This  plain 
illustration  will  serve  to  indicate  the  only  approach 
to  a  profitable  study  of  prophecy.  The  door  to  the 
treasure-house  of  predictive  wisdom  will  not  respond 
to  the  touch  of  every  individual.  The  ability  to 
understand  will  depend  upon  the  spiritual  character. 
"Now  the  natural  man  receiveth  not  the  things  of 
the  Spirit  of  God:  for  they  are  foolishness  unto 
him ;  and  he  cannot  know  them,  for  they  are 
spiritually  judged"  (1  Cor.  2:14).  It  is  only  by 
the  aid  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ  in  us  that  we  may 
"know  the  things  that  are  freely  given  to  us  of 
God." 

In  the  concluding  chapter  of  Daniel  the  promise 
is  made  that  "the  wise  shall  understand."  One 
might  hesitate  to  make  any  confident  statement  as  to 
the  teaching  of  the  prophets,  lest  he  seem  to  boast 
of  superior  wisdom,  but  the  word  "wise"  in  this 
connection  does  not  describe  one  possessed  of  pro- 
found learning  in  the  wisdom  of  the  world.  The 
word  "wise"  is  the  opposite  of  the  word  "wicked" 
in  the  preceding  phrase.  "None  of  the  wicked 
shall  understand ;  but  they  that  are  wise  shall  under- 
stand." It  refers  to  "those  who  purify  themselves 
and  make  themselves  white."  It  carries  the  idea 
of  "prudence,"  as  of  a  servant  who  faithfully 
strives    to    do    his    master's    will.      The    man    who 

24 


INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY 


earnestly  seeks  to  know  and  do  the  will  of  God 
will  attain  unto  wisdom  that  will  enable  him  to 
understand  more  and  more  of  the  prophetic  message. 
Jesus  indicated  the  same  thing  when  he  said:  "If 
any  man  willeth  to  do  his  will,  he  shall  know  of 
the  teaching,  whether  it  is  of  God,  or  whether  I 
speak  of  myself"    (John   7:17). 

Peter  lays  down  the  first  principle  for  our  guid- 
ance in  prophetic  study.  "Knowing  this  first,  that 
no  prophecy  of  scripture  is  of  private  interpretation" 
(2  Pet.  1:20).  We  can  not  understand  one  portion 
of  the  prophetic  record  without  viewing  it  in  its 
relation  to  the  whole,  for  each  portion  is  related 
to,  and  is  vitally  connected  with,  the  one  transcend- 
ent theme  that  had  its  origin  at  the  gate  of  Eden, 
and,  developing  gradually  through  the  centuries, 
reached  its  glorious  culmination  in  the  isle  of 
Patmos.  Prophecy  is  progressive.  It  appears  first 
"as  the  blade,  then  the  ear,  then  the  full  grain  in 
the  ear."  It  is  as  an  author  writing  a  book  whose 
theme  is  all  embodied  in  the  first  word  on  the  title- 
page.  Then,  word  by  word,  sentence  by  sentence, 
and  chapter  by  chapter,  the  theme  unfolds  and 
develops  until  it  is  complete  in  the  final  word  on 
the  last  page.  A  little  spring  appears  in  the  garden 
of  Eden,  and  starts  on  its  journey  toward  the  great 
sea  of  eternity.  As  its  waters  trickle  down  through 
the  patriarchal  age  it  enlarges  somewhat  from  the 
tiny  rivulets  flowing  into  it  from  other  springs,  but 
during  the  Jewish  dispensation  it  broadens  and 
deepens  as  streams  and  rivers  flow  into  it.  During 
the  apostolic  age  mighty  streams  of  prophecy,  clear 


INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY 


as  crystal,  flowing  from  the  lips  of  the  Master  and 
Peter  and  Paul,  are  added  to  its  volume,  and, 
sweeping  on,  it  finishes  its  course  at  the  end  of 
the  first  century,  and  there  in  the  Book  of  Revela- 
tion we  behold  the  mighty  river  of  prophecy  min- 
gling its  waters  in  the  crystal  sea.  That  enigmatical 
utterance  that  fell  upon  the  ears  of  our  first  parents 
has  been  developed  step  by  step  as  patriarch  after 
patriarch  sketched  in  here  a  little  and  there  a  little; 
as  prophet  after  prophet  wrote  "in  divers  portions," 
until  the  book  of  prophecy  is  complete.  Well  might 
John  say  as  his  closing  word:  "I  testify  unto  every 
man  that  heareth  the  words  of  the  prophecy  of  this 
book,  If  any  man  shall  add  unto  them,  God  shall  add 
unto  him  the  plagues  which  are  written  in  this  book : 
and  if  any  man  shall  take  away  from  the  words  of  the 
book  of  this  prophecy,  God  shall  take  away  his  part 
from  the  tree  of  life,  and  out  of  the  holy  city,  which 
are  written  in  this  book"  (Rev.  22:18,  19).  The 
prophetic  stream  had  reached  its  journey's  end. 

As  the  first  course  of  stone  laid  in  the  foundation 
forecasts  the  outline  and  general  detail  of  the 
building  that  is  to  be  reared,  so  the  first  prophetic 
utterance  reveals  the  scope  of  all  that  which  is  to 
be  revealed  afterward.  As  the  workmen  toil  from 
week  to  week,  new  detaiL  appear  which  were  not 
observable  when  the  first  course  of  stone  was  laid, 
and  not  until  the  building  is  complete  do  all  the 
details  blend  together  in  an  imposing  structure.  So 
with  prophecy,  the  beauty  and  harmony  of  all  its 
lines  do  not  appear  until  the  entire  structure  has 
been  finished  by  the  master  workman  of  Patmos. 

26 


INTRODUCTORY   ESSAY 


The  first  prophetic  utterances  were  but  the  most 
meager  outlines,  and  the  matchless  symmetry  of 
the  completed  form  did  not  appear  until  the  "holy 
men  of  old,"  each  in  his  own  time,  had  added  the 
details  that  had  been  revealed.  It  is  plain,  there- 
fore, that  "no  prophecy  of  the  scripture  is  of  any 
private  interpretation."  Every  detail  is  only  a  part 
of  a  harmonious  whole,  and  can  only  be  fully  com- 
prehended in  its  relation  to  that  whole.  Only  by 
patient  and  continuous  study  until  we  have  grasped 
the  scope  and  purpose  of  the  entire  body  of  prophecy 
can  we  hope  to  comprehend  each  detail  in  its 
relation  to  the  whole. 

It  is  also  evident  that  with  each  succeeding  age 
the  prophet's  message  will  become  less  obscure  and 
dim  as  new  and  minuter  details  are  given.  We  see 
this  abundantly  illustrated  in  passing  from  the  Old 
to  the  New  Testament.  In  the  Old  Testament  the 
prophecies  concerning  the  past  and  future  restora- 
tions* of  the  children  of  Israel  are  so  intermingled 
that  in  the  Jewish  mind  they  were  blended  into  one 
momentous  event  when  the  kingdom  of  David  would 
be  re-established.  For  this  reason  the  disciples 
expected,  as  they  witnessed  the  divine  approval  of 
Jesus  in  signs  and  wonders  which  he  did,  that  the 
consummation  of  their  hopes  was  at  hand.  The 
prophecies  concerning  the  first  and  second  advents 
of  our  Lord  are  so  blended  together  in  the  Old 
Testament  that  it  was  easy  for  the  self -conceited, 
Pharisaic  mind  to  conceive  of  him  as  appearing  but 
once,  and  to  mistake  his  second  coming  for  his 
first.     After  Jesus  consummated  the  purpose  of  his 

27 


INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY 


first  advent  on  Calvary  as  the  "suffering  servant," 
a    second   advent   "in   power    and    great   glory"    is 
clearly   revealed   in   the   New   Testament.     As   the 
New  Testament  is  written,  the  restorations  of  the 
children   of    Israel   are   clearly    distinguished    from 
each  other.     One  has  already  taken  place,  and  the 
other,  a  glorious  one,  will  occur  at  the  end  of  the 
Christian  age,  after  that  "a  people  for  his  name" 
have  been  taken  from  the  Gentiles.     So  Paul  says: 
"How  that  by  revelation  was  made  known  unto  me 
the   mystery,   as   I   wrote   before  in   a   few   words, 
whereby,  when  ye  read,  ye  can  perceive  my  under- 
standing in  the  mystery  of  Christ ;  which  in  other 
generations  was  not  made  known  unto  the  sons  of 
men,  as  it  hath  now  been  revealed  unto  his  holy 
apostles  and  prophets  in  the  Spirit"  (Eph.  3:3-5). 
The  New  Testament  writers  were  privileged  to  have 
a  clearer   and   fuller   insight  into  the  meaning  of 
events    which    had    previously    been    foretold    than 
had  been  accorded  to  those  who  had  gone  before. 
It   is   plain,   therefore,   that   the   prophecies   of   the 
Old  Testament  can  only  be  fully  comprehended  as 
we  study  them  in  the  light  of  the  teaching  of  the 
New    Testament.      The    New    fulfills    and    tm folds 
the  Old.     It  illuminates  the  Old. 

The  prophetic  portions  of  the  New  Testament 
show  this  same  increasing  clearness  as  we  proceed 
from  the  annunciation  of  the  angels,  through  the 
dark  sayings  and  parables  of  Jesus,  to  the  close  of 
the  inspired  Book.  Step  by  step,  as  we  proceed, 
the  light  grows  brighter  and  brighter,  until  in  the 
Book  of  Revelation  it  shines  forth  with  a  brilliancy 


INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY 


as  from  the  full-orbed  sun,  illuminating  all  of  the 
dark  places  and  making  plain  the  course  of  all  the 
events  of  the  future.  The  Book  of  Revelation  is 
therefore  the  clearest  and  most  comprehensive  of 
the  prophetic  portions  of  the  Scriptures.  How  rich 
is  that  blessing  which  has  been  bestowed  upon  us 
of  the  Qiristian  dispensation,  that  we  should  be 
privileged  to  read  the  mysteries  hidden  from  the 
foundation  of  the  world  in  the  full  flood-light  of  the 
crowning  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ.  If  the  awful 
judgments  of  God,  with  their  attendant  miseries  in 
the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  came  upon  the  Jews 
because  they  knew  "not  the  time  of  their  visitation" 
(Luke  19:44),  what  tribulation  will  be  ours  if  we 
do  not  know  the  time  of  our  "visitation"  nor  recog- 
nize the  approach  of  his  coming  with  the  "angels 
of  his  power  in  flaming  fire,  rendering  vengeance 
to  them  that  know  not  God,  and  them  that  obey  not 
the  gospel  of  our  Ia)rd  Jesus"  (1  Thess.  1:7,  8). 
Again,  another  principle  will  assist  the  student 
in  his  search  for  the  meaning  of  any  prophecy. 
Every  prediction  of  Scripture  has  its  mate;  that  is, 
the  fulfillment  corresponding  in  every  detail  with 
the  prediction.  "Seek  ye  out  of  the  book  of 
Jehovah,  and  read:  no  one  of  these  shall  want  her 
mate;  for  my  mouth,  it  hath  commanded,  and  his 
Spirit,  it  hath  gathered  them"  (Isa.  34:16).  Here 
is  where  Bible  readers  have  made  so  many  mistakes, 
seizing  upon  an  event  as  the  one  predicted  because 
it  corresponds  in  a  general  way  to  the  prediction. 
A  description  of  a  criminal  is  sent  to  a  strange 
city:  the  measurements,  the  color  of  the  hair,  and 


INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY 


eyes,  and  any  physical  marks  that  will  distinguish 
him  from  all  others.  The  detectives  keep  a  lookout 
for  him.  They  do  not  imprison  every  man  who 
corresponds  in  a  general  way  to  the  description. 
They  find  the  man  who  corresponds  in  all  details 
to  the  description  given.  Students  of  prophecy 
should  be  equally  careful.  Occasionally  a  man  may 
be  found  who  corresponds  in  every  detail  to  the 
description  given.  He  denies  he  is  the  one  wanted, 
and  proves  by  reputable  witnesses  that  he  was  in 
one  city  at  the  time  that  the  crime  was  committed 
in  another  city.  Thus  the  time  element  distinguishes 
when  all  the  other  details  seem  to  correspond  with 
the  event  predicted.  If  this  rule  had  been  followed, 
no  one  would  have  mistaken  1844  or  1870  or  1914. 
The  chronological  details  must  not  be  overlooked  as 
we  seek  for  the  mate  to  the  prediction. 

Not  only  do  the  predictions  of  the  Scripture  have 
mates  in  their  fulfillment,  but  they  are  given  in 
couplets.  That  is,  the  event,  or  series  of  events, 
predicted  are  foretold  in  two  or  more  corresponding 
prophecies.  A  simple  illustration  of  this  is  found 
in  the  two  dreams  of  Joseph  (Gen.  37:  5-11).  Here, 
in  the  first  dream,  Joseph  and  his  brethren  are 
binding  sheaves  in  the  field  and  their  sheaves  made 
obeisance  to  his  sheaf.  In  the  second  dream  the 
sun  and  moon  and  eleven  stars  made  obeisance  unto 
him.  Both  of  these  dreams  refer  to  one  and  the 
same  event  still  in  the  future.  Therefore  the 
chronological  element  is  the  same  in  both  dreams. 
The  obeisance  of  the  eleven  stars  corresponds  to 
the   obeisance   of   the   eleven    sheaves,   but   in   the 

80 


INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY 


second  dream  there  is  the  added  detail  of  the 
obeisance  of  the  sun  and  moon.  In  Gen.  40:9-23 
we  have  another  illustration  of  the  same  principle. 
The  butler  dreamed  of  a  vine  having  three  branches. 
He  pressed  the  grapes  that  ripened  upon  the 
branches  into  a  cup,  and  gave  the  cup  into  Pharaoh's 
hands.  The  baker  dreamed  that  he  had  three  white 
baskets  on  his  head,  and  the  uppermost  one  was 
filled  with  baked  food  for  Pharaoh,  but  the  birds 
came  and  ate  the  food.  From  the  interpretation 
given  we  see  that  the  three  branches  of  the  one 
correspond  to  the  three  baskets  of  the  other.  They 
are  three  days.  Thus  we  see  the  time  element  is 
the  same  in  each  dream,  but  other  details  are  differ- 
ent. The  fulfillment  of  one  dream  will  concern  the 
butler  and  the  other  will  concern  the  baker.  Pharaoh 
receives  the  wine  from  the  butler  in  one  case,  but 
in  the  other  Pharaoh  receives  no  baked  food  from 
the  baker,  for  the  birds  devour  it.  Another  instance 
of  the  same  principle  is  recorded  in  Gen.  41 : 1-7. 
Here  we  find  dreams  doubled  also.  The  seven  fat 
kine  correspond  to  the  seven  ears  of  grain,  rank 
and  good.  The  seven  lean  kine  correspond  to  the 
seven  thin  ears.  Both  dreams  refer  to  the  same 
series  of  events,  and  the  time  element  is  the  same 
in  each  dream.  Now,  the  reason  for  this  repetition 
of  a  prediction  is  expressly  stated:  "And  for  that 
the  dream  was  doubled  unto  Pharaoh,  it  is  because 
the  thing  is  established  by  God,  and  God  will  shortly 
bring  it  to  pass"  (Gen.  41:32).  Thus,  almost  at 
the  beginning  of  the  Bible,  the  rule  for  the  divine 
arrangement   of   prophecy   is   laid    down    for    our 

81 


INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY 


guidance.  Every  prophecy  of  the  Scriptiire  will 
have  its  companion  or  mate,  and  these  should  be 
placed  side  by  side  and  compared  with  each  other. 
If  the  time  element  is  mentioned  in  one  prophecy 
and  not  mentioned  in  the  other,  we  may  be  sure 
it  is  the  same  in  both,  for  they  are  mates.  If  other 
details  mentioned  in  one  are  not  found  in  the  other, 
we  know  they  belong  there  because  both  predictions 
concern  the  same  event,  or  series  of  events.  These 
mates  corroborate  each  other,  strengthen  each  other, 
and  illustrate  each  other.  No  prophecy  can  be  fully 
understood  apart  from  its  companion  or  companions. 
Thus  again  is  emphasized  the  statement  of  Peter: 
"Knowing  this  first,  that  no  prophecy  of  scripture 
is  of  private  interpretation"  (2  Pet.  1:20).  An 
examination  of  the  Book  of  Daniel  shows  that  this 
is  the  divine  arrangement.  It  naturally  falls  into 
two  parts,  one  ending  with  the  sixth  chapter  and 
the  other  beginning  with  the  seventh  chapter.  The 
visions  of  the  first  part  are  from  the  viewpoint  of 
Nebuchadnezzar,  a  world  ruler,  while  the  visions 
of  the  second  are  from  the  viewpoint  of  Daniel,  a 
prophet  of  God.  They  are  companion  prophecies 
foretelling  the  progress  of  events  until  the  final  con- 
summation— the  establishment  of  the  kingdom  of 
Christ.  The  time  element  is  the  same,  and  the 
variation  in  details  is  due  to  difference  in  viewpoint. 
The  same  is  true  of  the  visions  in  chapters  2  and  4. 
One  is  the  vision  of  a  great  image  and  the  other  of 
a  great  tree.  While  the  time  element  is  mentioned 
only  in  one  vision,  it  applies  to  both,  for  the  image 
and  the  tree  reveal  the  same  series  of  events  con- 

82 


INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY 


nected  with  the  rise  and  fall  of  nations  until  the 
establishment  of  the  everlasting  kingdom.  In  both 
visions  the  starting-point  is  given  with  the  reign  of 
Nebuchadnezzar.  In  the  vision  of  the  great  tree 
the  period  of  madness  continues  for  seven  times. 
At  the  end  of  these  seven  times  a  change  would 
take  place  in  the  heart  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  who  in 
the  vision  is  made  to  represent  all  Gentile  kingdoms. 
He  then  will  acknowledge  the  supremacy  of  God 
and  yield  to  his  rule.  It  indicates  the  time  when 
the  kingdoms  of  the  world  shall  become  the  king- 
doms of  our  Lord  and  his  Christ.  The  same  time 
element  controls  the  vision  of  the  image,  for  they 
are  mates.  From  the  beginning  of  Nebuchadnezzar's 
reign  (606  B.  C.)  seven  times,  or  2,520  years,  will 
intervene  before  the  stone  begins  to  crush  the 
kingdoms  which  are  represented  by  the  toes  of  the 
image.  This  establishes  1914  A.  D.  as  the  year  in 
which  the  crushing  process  begins,  and  determines 
the  meaning  of  the  struggle  in  which  the  European 
nations  are  engaged.  They  are  being  ground  to 
powder,  and  they,  with  all  Gentile  governments,  will 
disappear  as  chaff  of  the  summer  threshing-floors. 
At  the  completion  of  the  crushing  process  a  sweep- 
ing and  radical  change  has  been  effected.  Instead 
of  the  forms  of  government  represented  by  the 
image  and  its  toes,  the  stone  itself  becomes  a  mighty 
kingdom  that  fills  the  whole  earth.  In  the  fourth 
chapter  we  find  the  record  of  Nebuchadnezzar  be- 
coming insane  for  a  period  of  seven  years.  As 
Nebuchadnezzar  is  made  to  represent  all  of  the 
succeeding    Gentile    rule    under   the    figure   of    the 

8  33 


INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY 


tree,  so  the  seven  literal  years  of  his  insanity  are 
made  to  represent  that  larger  period  of  2,520  years 
that  must  elapse  until  the  nations  yield  to  the 
supremacy  of  Christ.  The  year  in  which  Nebuchad- 
nezzar's literal  insanity  began  is  the  year  from 
which  the  2,520  years  must  be  counted  to  determine 
the  date  of  the  coming  of  our  Lord.  "And  the 
nations  shall  come  to  thy  light  and  kings  to  the 
brightness  of  thy  rising"  (Isa.  60:3).  Here  we  see 
how  carefully  the  date  of  the  beginning  of 
Nebuchadnezzar's  literal  madness  is  omitted,  and  no 
detail  is  given  that  will  enable  us  to  determine  it. 
We  only  know  that  at  some  time  during  a  reign  of 
about  forty-five  years  is  the  point  from  which  the 
2,520  years  are  to  be  counted.  Students  of  prophecy 
should  realize  that  the  day  and  the  hour  of  the 
coming  of  the  King  can  not  be  determined.  In  the 
brief  period  of  about  forty-five  years,  continuing 
from  1914  to  1959,  will  be  accomplished  the  over- 
turning of  all  forms  of  earthly  government.  During 
the  briefer  period  from  1959  to  1972  will  be  fully 
accomplished  the  rapid  development  of  the  stone 
into  the  great  mountain  or  kingdom  that  fills  the 
whole  earth.  In  the  lifetime  of  many  now  living 
this  wonderful  revolution  shall  be  completed.  This 
gives  us  opportunity  to  set  our  houses  in  order,  that 
we  may  not  be  cau.srht  unawares.  It  is  a  grand  and 
awful  time  in  which  we  are  privileged  to  live,  as 
will  be  developed  in  the  following  chapters.  The 
King  of  glory  is  now  "even  at  the  door."  The 
sublimest  spectacle  of  the  ages  will  soon  occur. 
Awake,  O  sleeper,  and,  with  your  lamp   trimmed 

&4 


INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY 


and  burning,  be  ready  for  his  glorious  appearing. 
In  the  conclusion  of  this  chapter  attention  must 
be  called  to  imaginary  difficulties  that  discourage 
the  average  Bible  reader  when  he  approaches  the 
subject  of  prophecy.  The  events  are  foretold  and 
the  details  are  given  in  language  seemingly  difficult 
to  understand.  He  is  confronted  with  wild  beasts 
of  various  kinds,  dragons,  mountains,  earthquakes, 
winds,  candlesticks,  and  other  symbols  equally 
incomprehensible  as  he  ordinarily  mterprets  words. 
This  difficulty  is  more  apparent  than  real.  In  ordi- 
nary speech  we  understand  words  in  the  sense 
determined  by  the  common  usage.  When  the 
prophets  use  a  word,  its  meaning  is  determined  by 
the  prophetical  usage  in  the  Scripture.  When  one 
comes  to  a  symbol  which  he  does  not  understand,  a 
little  patient  investigation  will  show  the  meaning 
attached  to  it  by  other  prophets.  In  the  earlier 
written  languages  symbols  were  used  to  express 
definite  ideas.  The  same  is  true  of  Scripture 
symbols.  Each  represents  a  definite  and  unchange- 
able idea.  The  Scripture  usage  determines  what 
this  is.  It  will  give  a  definition  for  every  symbol 
used.  So  let  us  "speak  where  the  Scriptures  speak." 
Patiently  and  reverently  we  handle  the  Book.  As 
we  turn  its  pages  we  find  that  where  there  are 
mysteries  and  concealed  treasures,  a  key  has  been 
left  for  our  use.  Jesus  explained  some  of  his  own 
parables  that  his  disciples  might  be  guided  in  their 
understanding  of  the  others.  Divine  interpretations 
have  been  given  to  many  of  the  most  important 
prophecies  of  the  Scripture  so  that  the  children  of 

85 


INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY 


God  might  have  a  rule  of  interpretation  exactly  as 
in  mathematics,  where  we  usually  find  a  problem 
solved  at  the  beginning  of  the  lesson  that  the 
student  might  have  a  pattern  for  the  solution  of 
the  unsolved  problems  that  follow.  So  with  the 
words  and  symbols:  none  will  occur  but  the  Scrip- 
ture will  "thoroughly  furnish"  us  its  meaning. 

Following  these  principles,  no  man  can  study 
the  prophecies  of  the  Bible  without  his  life  being 
enriched  and  his  faith  strengthened  and  his  heart 
purified.  Especially  as  he  turns  to  the  crowning 
prophecy  of  the  ages  and  beholds,  with  the  apostle 
John,  the  sublime  climax  of  it  all  in  the  second 
coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  "with  power  and 
great  glory,"  will  he  be  thrilled  by  its  indescribable 
grandeur  and  his  lips  will  join  with  the  angelic 
choir  in  a  mighty  paean  of  praise  to  Him  that 
reigneth  for  ever  and  ever. 


CHAPTER  I. 
PRELIMINARY  EXAMINATION 

WE  now  approach  the  study  of  the  sublimest 
portion  of  the  Bible.  It  easily  surpasses  all 
of  the  preceding  prophecies  in  sweep  of  conception 
and  grandeur  of  expression.  It  is  the  fitting  climax 
to  the  revelation  of  God  to  man.  All  of  the 
prophetic  utterances  of  the  centuries  of  the  past 
find  in  this  unique  book  their  clearest  and  most 
comprehensive  expression.  It  stands  in  th^  same 
relation  to  the  preceding  prophetic  record  that  the 
gorgeous  full-blown  rose  sustains  to  the  plant  that 
bears  it.  The  roots  found  in  that  enigmatical 
utterance  in  Eden — "He  shall  bruise  thy  head,  and 
thou  shalt  bruise  his  heel" — developed  into  a  tree 
during  the  intervening  centuries,  and  the  Book  of 
Revelation  is  as  the  ripened  fruit,  luscious  and 
satisfying.  Preliminary  to  an  understanding  of 
the  message  it  contains,  a  few  facts  in  regard  to 
authorship,  time  of  writing,  and  circumstances  sur- 
rounding its  composition  must  be  established. 

The  writer  of  the  Apocalypse 
gives  his  name  as  John,  and  de- 
scribes himself  as  the  "servant"  of  Jesus   Christ, 
and  as  a  "brother  and  partaker"  with  the  disciples 
of   the    seven   churches    in   tribulation.      That    the 

87 


THE    REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

author  is  the  apostle  John  is  evidenced  by  all  the 
early  Christian  writers.  Irenaeus  describes  the 
author  of  the  Apocalypse  "as  the  disciple  of  the 
Lord,"  and  as  the  one  "that  leaned  upon  his  bosom." 
This  is  confirmed  by  other  writers  of  the  first 
centuries  following  the  apostolic  age. 

The   time   of   the   writing  of 
"^*  the   Apocalypse   is   a   most   vital 

factor,  for  the  time  element  in  the  book  is  related 
to  this  date.  The  things  revealed  were  to  "shortly 
come  to  pass"  (ch.  1:1),  and  "things  which  must 
come  to  pass  hereafter"  (ch.  4:1).  If  we  know 
the  time  of  the  writing  of  the  book,  we  have  the 
starting-point  for  the  events  revealed  to  begin,  for 
they  must  "shortly  come  to  pass."  Since  the 
author  was  John,  its  date  must  lie  during  his  life- 
time. The  particular  period  of  his  life  in  which 
the  book  was  written  was  when  he  suffered  banish- 
ment "in  the  isle  of  Patmos  for  the  word  of  God 
and  the  testimony  of  Jesus"  (ch.  1:9).  The  date 
of  this  particular  experience  is  given  by  Irenaeus 
(130-202)  in  these  words:  "It  [the  revelation]  was 
seen  no  very  long  time  ago,  but  almost  in  our 
generation,  at  the  close  of  Domitian's  reign." 
Jerome  gives  the  date  of  the  exile  in  the  fourteenth 
year  of  Domitian,  and  says  that  John  returned  from 
Patmos  under  Nerva.  According  to  Clemens,  he 
returned  "after  the  death  of  the  tyrant."  Summing 
up  the  evidence,  we  find  that  the  revelation  was 
given  to  the  apostle  John  in  the  years  95  or  96. 
Domitian's  reign  began  in  81  A.  D.,  and  the  four- 
teenth year  would  be  95  A.  D.     The  last  year  of 


PRELIMINARY    EXAMINATION 

Domitian's  reign  was  96  A.  D.,  he  being  slain  on 

September  18  of  that  year.     If  John  returned  from 

Patmos  during  Nerva's  reign,  the  duration  of   his 

exile  could  not  be  extended  more  than  a  year  and 

three    months,    for    this    ruler    died    January    25, 

98  A.  D.     The  year  96  A.  D.  may  then  be  settled 

upon  as  the  approximate  date  of  the  book. 

The    place    where    John    was 
Pla.cc 

permitted  to  behold  the  panorama 

of  human  history  and  the  future  tribulations  and 
final  triumphant  victory  of  the  church  was  the  isle 
"called  Patmos."  This  was  a  rocky  islet  about  a 
mile  wide  and  seven  long.  It  was  but  eighteen  or 
twenty  miles  from  the  mainland.  Here  the  aged 
apostle  was  placed  after  bearing  testimony  to  the 
Lord  Jesus  for  sixty-six  years.  All  of  the  other 
apcstles  had  long  since  departed  to  be  with  Christ, 
and  he  alone  remained  to  "fill  out  the  sufferings 
of  Christ"  in  the  flesh.  Lonely,  indeed,  must  have 
been  the  days  of  his  imprisonment  in  such  barren 
surroundings,  not  knowing  how  those  Christians  on 
the  mainland  were  faring  under  the  persecuting 
hand  of  a  cruel  tyrant.  That  narrow,  wind-swept 
?ea  would  but  tantalize  this  aged  soul  as  he  gazed 
across  its  heavins^  bosom.  It  was  a  barrier  between 
him  and  those  he  loved,  and  his  great  heart  longed 
to  encourage  them  in  their  tribulation  and  tell  them 
"to  love  one  another."  Under  such  trying  circum- 
stances, Jesus  Christ  sent  an  angel  unto  the  one 
whom  he  loved,  granting  him  a  glorious  vision,  and, 
through  him,  sending  to  all  of  his  servants  a 
revelation  of  ineffable  glory. 

89 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

The  casual  reader  professes  to 
How  to  Study  ^^^  j^  difficult  to  understand  the 
Book  of  Revelation.  To  be  sure,  it  is  a  difficult 
book  and  possibly  it  contains  mysteries  that  will  not 
be  revealed  until  the  Saviour  himself  shall  come, 
but,  in  the  main,  most  of  the  difficulties  will  disap- 
pear if  one  gives  to  it  that  patient,  continuous  and 
prayerful  study  that  its  vital  and  glorious  message 
demands.  There  are  three  simple  rules  that  must 
be  observed  if  we  wish  to  sense  the  clearness  of 
the  apocalyptic  visions  of  John,  and,  if  these  be 
followed,  the  student  will  be  rewarded  with  the 
unfolding  of  a  book  of  marvelous  beauty  and 
simplicity  and  with  a  greater  faith. 

First,  the  book  should  be  read  and  reread  many 
times  without  any  attempt  to  understand  the  mean- 
ing of  its  mysterious  symbols,  until  the  outline  of 
its  structure  is  clearly  grasped  by  the  mind.  The 
more  the  Apocalypse  is  read,  the  more  apparent 
it  will  be  that  its  construction  is  as  symmetrical  as 
that  of  a  Grecian  temple,  and  its  plan  will  become 
more  clear  and  transparent. 

Second,  the  outline  having  become  distinct,  atten- 
tion can  be  given  to  understanding  of  the  symbols 
used.  The  words  which  we  use  to-day  are  under- 
stood by  the  meaning  attached  to  them  at  the  present 
time.  The  apocalyptic  language  of  Revelation  must 
therefore  be  understood  according  to  its  usage  in 
the  Scripture.  Such  symbols  as  sun,  moon,  seas, 
beasts,  horns,  etc.,  carry  the  meaning  that  the 
prophets  commonly  give  to  them.  We  have  the 
open   Bible  before  us.     It  will   show   what   is   the 

40 


PRELIMINARY    EXAMINATION 

meaning  of  every  sign  and  symbol  used  by  the 
seer  of  Patmos.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the 
revelation  of  God  is  given  in  "words  which  the 
Holy  Spirit  teacheth/'  and  they  must  be  understood 
according  to  the  usage  of  the  Spirit.  A  patient 
examination  of  the  Scriptural  usage  of  any  symbol 
will  determine  its  meaning. 

Third,  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  items 
recorded  in  this  book  are  "things  which  must  come 
to  pass  hereafter."  After  the  last  page  of  the  Bible 
is  written,  these  prophetic  details  are  to  be  fulfilled 
in  great  historic  events.  It  is  plain,  therefore,  that 
the  Bible  can  furnish  us  no  record  of  the  fulfillment 
of  the  mighty  struggles  so  graphically  foretold  in 
this  book.  We  must  be  patient  students,  then,  of 
history's  pages,  for  in  them  only  can  we  find 
fulfilled  the  event  described  and  foretold  in  symbol. 
Attention  must  be  given  to  every  detail  of  the 
vision,  even  to  the  minutest,  in  order  that  we  may 
certainly  locate  the  particular  event  described.  It  is 
at  this  point  that  so  many  students  of  prophecy 
have  failed.  When  a  description  of  a  criminal  is 
sent  out  to  the  various  cities,  every  detail  is  given, 
as  far  as  is  known,  by  which  he  may  be  certainly 
identified.  Ofiicers  seeking  for  him  will  not  arrest 
any  man  who  corresponds  only  in  part  to  the  descrip- 
tion in  their  possession,  for  many  men  might  possess 
many  of  the  characteristic  features  of  the  particular 
individual  wanted.  The  identity  is  determined  by  the 
fact  that  one  man  corresponds  in  every  particular 
with  the  description.  The  absence  of  a  scar  or  a 
mole  upon  a  particular  part  of  the  body  of  a  sus- 

41 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

pected  person  will  be  sufficient  to  show  that  he  is  not 
the  man  sought  for,  if  those  marks  are  given  as  being 
possessed  by  the  criminal.  The  same  principle  will 
apply  in  our  study  of  prophecy.  The  Apocalypse 
gives  a  symbolic  description  of  certain  future  histori- 
cal events.  Unless  we  can  definitely  identify  them  as 
they  come  to  pass,  or  after  they  have  occurred,  the 
prophetic  record  would  be  of  no  value  to  us.  There- 
fore we  must  conclude  that  sufficient  descriptive  de- 
tails have  been  given  by  the  prophet  to  establish  the 
identity  of  the  event  referred  to,  and  to  certainly  dis- 
tinguish it  from  all  others.  It  only  remains  for  the 
reader  to  be  sure  that  the  established  features  of  an 
historical  event  correspond  in  every  detail  to  the  pro- 
phetic description.  This  principle  leaves  no  oppor- 
tunity for  divergent  interpretations  of  prophecy.  No 
two  historical  events  are  identical  in  every  particular, 
and  one  can  not  be  mistaken  for  the  other. 

The  theme  of  the  book  is  the 

Structure  .  r    /-»    •  ^       t-t.-      •      xi. 

coming    of    Christ.      This    is   the 

outstanding  utterance  of  the  prologue:  "Behold,  he 
cometh  with  the  clouds;  and  every  eye  shall  see' 
him,  and  they  that  pierced  him;  and  all  the  tribes 
of  the  earth  shall  mourn  over  him"  (Rev.  1:7). 
This  is  the  last  word  of  divine  revelation  vouchsafed 
to  the  children  of  men.  "He  who  testifieth  these 
things  saith,  Yea:  I  come  quickly.  Amen:  come, 
Lord  Jesus"  (Rev.  22 :  20) .  The  introduction  con- 
sists of  the  first  eight  verses.  The  Apocalypse 
proper  begins  with  ch.  1:9,  and  conti.iues  to  ch. 
22 :  5.  The  epilogue,  beginning  with  ch.  22 : 6, 
concludes  the  book. 

42 


PRELIMINARY    EXAMINATION 

The  Apocalypse  proper  consists  of  three  parts. 
Each  part  is  introduced  by  a  glorious  vision.  Part  I. 
is  included  in  chs.  1 :  9-3 :  22.  Part  II.  is  included 
in  chs.  4:1-11:18.  Part  III.  is  included  in  chs. 
11:19-22:5.  The  events  foretold  in  the  different 
parts  do  not  follow  each  other  in  chronological 
order,  for  the  three  parts  are  parallel  to  each  other. 
They  are  mates,  and  they  begin  at  the  same  time 
and  end  at  the  same  time.  They  are  three  witnesses 
testifying  from  three  viewpoints  as  to  the  progress 
of  the  course  of  events  from  the  end  of  the  apostolic 
age  unto  the  time  of  the  new  heavens  and  the  new 
earth.  They  thus  explain  each  other  and  corroborate 
each  other.  "At  the  mouth  of  two  or  three  wit- 
nesses every  word  may  be  established."  Part  I.  is 
introduced  by  a  vision  of  seven  golden  candlesticks 
(ch.  1:9-20).  Part  II.  is  introduced  by  a  vision 
of  the  door  opened  in  heaven  (chs.  4  and  5). 
Part  III.  begins  with  a  vision  of  the  open  temple 
in  heaven  (ch.  11:19).  Part  I.  records  the  moral 
and  spiritual  changes  which  are  to  occur  in  the 
visible  church  till  the  coming  of  Christ.  Part  II. 
foretells  the  progress  of  the  struggles  between 
earthly  governments  and  the  divine,  until  "the 
kingdom  of  the  world  is  become  the  kingdom  of 
our  Lord,  and  of  his  Christ"  (ch.  11 :  15).  Part  III. 
is  the  record  of  the  struggles  to  occur  between  the 
spiritual  church  and  Satan,  and  continuing  until 
the  church  is  enthroned  as  the  Lamb's  wife  and 
Satan  is  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire.  This  prophetic 
history  is  separated  into  seven  periods,  marked  in 
Part  I.  by  seven  churches  and  in  Part  II.  by  seven 

48 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

seals.  In  this  part  the  period  included  under  the 
seventh  seal  is  separated  into  smaller  divisions 
marked  by  seven  trumpets.  In  Part  III.  there  are 
seven  vials  that  are  parallel  to  the  seven  trumpets 
in  Part  II.  The  relation  of  the  parts  to  each  other 
may  be  visualized  in  the  outline  chart  below. 


INTRODUCTION. 

Inscription. 

Ch.  1:1-3. 

Prologue  Proper. 

Ch.  1:4-8. 

96  A.  D.-PART  1. 

96  A.  D.— PART  II. 

96  A  D.— PART  III. 

Vision  of  the  >seven 

Candlesticks. 

Ch.  1 :  y-20. 

Mbssagb. 

Ephesian  Church, 
Period  ch.  2: 1-7 

Vision  of  a  Door 

Opened  in  Heaven. 

Chs,  4  and  5. 

Message. 

Opening  of  the  Seven 

Seals 

and  the 

Sounding  of  the  Seven 

Trumpets. 

Chs.  6:1-11:18. 

Christ  comes  (cb.  11: 
15^. 

Vision  of  the  Open 

Temple  in  Heaven. 

Ch.  11:19. 

Messaos. 

The  Woman  and 

the  Dragon. 

History  of  the  Beasts. 

Pouring  out  of  Seven 

Vials  of  Wrath. 

Chs.  12:1-20:8. 

Christ  comes  (ch.  10: 
11-20:6). 

Smyrna  Church. 

Period  ch.  2:  8-11. 
Perprainum  Church. 

Period  ch.  2: 12-17. 

Thyatiia  Church. 

Period  ch.  2: 18-29. 
Sardis  <  hurch. 
Period  ch.  3:1-6. 

Philadelphia  Church. 
Period  ch.  8:  7-13. 

Lnndicean  Church. 
Period  ch   3:14  22. 

Christ  comes  (ch.  8: 
20). 

Conclusion  ^ch.  20:7- 

22:5). 
Epiloprue(ch.22:6-20). 

44 


Parti 


45 


CHAPTER  II. 
VISION  OF  THE  GOLDEiN  CANDLESTICKS 

REVERENTLY    do    we    read 
the    opening    words    of    the 
'  ^'^'^  book  that  closes  the  canon  of  the 

sacred  Scripture,  and  with  a  prayer  to  the  Giver  cf 
all  wisdom  that  he  will  guide  us  into  all  the  truth 
he  wishes  us  to  know,  A  solemnity  attaches  to  our 
study  as  we  realize  that  this  is  the  last  message 
which  God  will  vouchsafe  to  a  lost  and  ruined 
world  until  Jesus  comes  again.  It  must  fill  up  and 
complete  what  was  lacking  to  make  the  "man  of 
God  complete."  We  have  always  been  told  that 
the  Apocalypse  was  a  dark  mystery  forbidding 
solution  even  by  the  most  scholarly  minds,  but  the 
very  first  phrase  of  the  inscription  contradicts  our 
misapprehension  and  inspires  confidence  in  our 
ability  to  understand  the  message  that  is  written. 
If  the  book  is  sealed  and  its  mysteries  can  not  be 
penetrated,  the  title,  as  given  in  the  first  phrase  of 
the  inscription,  is  a  misnomer  and  is  false.  The 
word  "revelation"  means  that  which  is  disclosed, 
uncovered  or  made  plain.  To  say  that  in  this  book 
God  has  not  made  plain  the  facts  that  are  given 
is  but  to  attribute  misrepresentation  to  the  Holy 
Spirit,  and  to  impute  lack  of  wisdom  in  him  who 

4T 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

redeemed  us  in  sending  a  message  unto  "his 
servants"  which  would  be  incomprehensible  to  them. 
There  is  no  portion  of  the  Scripture  but  what 
is  of  value  to  the  class  of  people  for  whom  it  was 
intended.  "Every  scripture  inspired  of  God  is  also 
profitable  for  teaching,  for  reproof,  for  correction, 
for  instruction  which  is  in  righteousness."  The 
revelation  of  Jesus  Christ  was  given  unto  him  to 
"show  unto  his  servants."  It  will  be  especially 
profitable  unto  every  disciple  of  his.  It  is  a  rich 
and  a  sublime  message  accorded  only  to  the  follow- 
ers of  Christ.  The  privileges  of  discipleship  are 
emphasized  here  as  they  are  in  Luke  8:  10,  where 
Jesus  said:  "Unto  you  it  is  given  to  know  the 
mysteries  of  the  kingdom  of  God:  but  to  the  rest 
in  parables;  that  seeing  they  may  not  see,  and 
hearing  they  may  not  understand,"  Not  only  do 
the  children  of  God  have  a  right  to  know  the 
truths  hidden  in  the  veiled  language  and  the 
prophetic  symbolism  of  Revelation,  but  we  are 
encouraged  to  scan  its  pages,  with  a  desire  to  know 
the  things  written  therein,  by  the  promise  of  a 
divine  blessing.  "Blessed  is  he  that  readeth,  -and 
they  that  hear  the  words  of  the  prophecy,  and  keep 
the  things  that  are  written  therein :  for  the  time 
is  at  hand"  (v.  3).  The  servant  of  Christ  will  be 
blessed  every  time  he  reads  the  book,  and  ministers 
should  preach  frequently  upon  the  mighty  themes 
suggested  therein,  for  those  who  hear  are  to  be 
blessed.  Every  word  of  the  inscription,  therefore, 
clearly  implies  that  the  message  that  follows  can 
be  understood. 

4R 


VISION  OF  THE  GOLDEN  CANDLESTICKS 

The  key  to  the  understanding  of  Revelation  is 
given  in  the  inscription,  and  in  the  very  first  verse: 
"And  he  sent  and  signified  it."  The  word  "signi- 
fied" means  made  in  signs  or  symbols.  Thus  the 
character  of  the  language  used  in  the  book  is 
explicitly  stated.  We  can  not  interpret  its  state- 
ments in  literal  terms,  for  the  revelation  was 
"sign-i-fied,"  but  this  fact  renders  it  no  less  intel- 
ligible. It  becomes  but  a  matter  of  determining  the 
ordinary  prophetic  usage  of  the  sign  or  symbol 
given  in  order  to  understand  its  true  meaning.  It 
matters  little  whether  a  word  is  used  literally  or 
fisfiiratively  so  long  as  we  know  certainly  in  which 
manner  it  is  to  be  understood.  The  inscription 
definitely  fixes  the  character  of  the  language  of  the 
Apocalypse  so  that  we  may  make  no  mistake. 

Many  religious  people  have  been  deluded  into 
believing  that  Christ  came  to  earth  a  second  time, 
as  was  so  often  foretold  by  himself  and  other 
Scripture  writers,  when  John  received  these  visions. 
They  would  not  have  fallen  into  this  error  had 
they  examined  the  careful,  comprehensive  language 
of  the  first  verse  of  the  book.  Jesus  did  not  come 
to  earth  at  all.  His  second  coming  is  still  in  the 
future,  and  we  anxiously  await  his  coming  "with 
all  of  his  holy  angels  with  him."  The  language 
distinctly  declares  that  Jesus  "sent  and  sisfnified  this 
revelation  by  his  angel  unto  his  servant  John."  The 
heavenly  being  who  came  unto  John  was  an  angel 
"sent"  by  Christ. 

The  scope  and  character  of  the  message  are  as 
clearly    and    explicitly    stated.      The    revelation    of 

4  49 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

Jesus  Christ  consists  of  "things  which  must  shortly 
come  to  pass."  The  date  of  the  vision  is  approxi- 
mately 96  A.  D.  The  things  foretold  will  begin  to 
come  to  pass  shortly  after  that  time.  This  begin- 
ning time-limit  is  unchangeably  fixed.  The  entire 
subject-matter  of  the  book  is  concerning  things 
which  were  then  still  in  the  future.  The  events 
which  have  been  fulfilled  since  that  time  are  matters 
of  historic  record.  A  reference  to  this  record  is 
necessary  to  any  understanding  of  the  book.  A  few 
writers  have  overworked  the  word  "shortly,"  giving 
a  meaning  unwarranted  by  Scripture  usage.  Accord- 
ing to  their  interpretation,  all  of  the  events  foretold 
would  occur  in  a  very  brief  space  of  time  after  96 
A.  D.,  and  therefore  are  of  no  particular  interest  to 
this  generation.  A  reference  to  ch.  22:20  will  show 
that  such  an  iriterpretation  is  unjustifiable.  There 
the  coming  of  Jesus  is  to  be  "quickly."  The  faithful 
still  wait  for  the  fulfillment  of  the  promise.  If  we 
were  to  say  that  we  would  build  a  castle  "shortly," 
our  meaning  would  not  be  misunderstood.  Every 
one  would  understand  that  we  would  begin  the 
construction  soon,  with  no  reference  to  the  time 
of  completion  except  the  implication  that  the  work 
would  continue  from  day  to  day  and  that  the  time 
of  completion  would  depend  upon  the  size  of  the 
structure  and  the  circumstances  connected  with  the 
building.  This  is  the  true  meaning  of  the  v/ord 
"shortly"  in  this  place.  "The  things  which  must 
shortly  come  to  pass"  are  the  movement  of  armies, 
the  conflicts  between  nations,  the  decadence  and  fall 
of    kingdoms    and    the    development    of    apostasy. 

50 


VISION  OF  THE  GOLDEN  CANDLESTICKS 

Many  of  the  events  described  require  centuries  for 
their  fulfiHment,  and  very  naturally  could  not  come 
within  the  compass  of  a  few  years.  The  events 
begin  to  come  to  pass  "shortly"  after  96  A.  D.,  and 
continue  in  succession  until  all  are  fulfilled  in  the 
new  heaven  and  the  new  earth.  In  verse  19  John 
records  the  prophetic  commission  in  these  words: 
"Write  therefore  the  things  which  thou  sawest  [the 
vision  of  the  seven  golden  candlesticks],  and  the 
things  which  are  [the  circumstances  surrounding 
the  giving  of  the  vision],  and  the  things  which  shall 
come  to  pass  hereafter  [future  visions  and  mes- 
sages]." A  comparison  of  this  verse  with  the  first 
verse  will  make  plain  that  the  beatific  vision  does 
not  refer  to  the  things  "which  must  come  to  pass." 
It  belongs  to  "the  things  that  are,"  and  the  message 
that  follows  belongs  to  the  "things  hereafter." 

The   Apocalypse   is   addressed 
Salutation  and         ^^     ^^^     ^^^^^     churches     whose 
e  ica  ion.  names  are  given,  and  they  become 

Rev.  1:4-8  j^^  custodians.     Here  for  the  first 

time  we  find  the  number  "seven"  which  is  used  so 
frequently  throughout  the  book.  It  signifies  com- 
pleteness or  perfection.  When  the  Lord  addresses 
these  seven  churches,  they  represent  the  universal 
church  in  its  seven-fold  character.  The  divine 
authenticity  of  the  message  is  especially  emphasized 
in  the  inscription  and  in  the  salutation.  God  gave 
the  revelation  to  Christ.  He  in  turn  sent  his  angel 
who  "signified"  it  to  John.  The  salutation  has  a 
threefold  divine  signature:  1.  The  Father  himself, 
indicated  in  the  expression,  "him  who  is  and  who 

51 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

was  and  who  is  to  come."  2.  The  "seven  Spirits 
that  are  before  his  throne."  This  indicates  the 
Holy  Spirit  in  his  seven- fold  manifestation.  Six  of 
these  basic  forms  or  manifestations  are  mentioned 
in  Isa.  11:2.  In  Rev.  4:  5  the  seven  Spirits  of  God 
are  described  as  "seven  lamps  of  fire  burning  before 
the  throne."  In  Rev,  5 : 6  the  seven  Spirits  are 
described  as  "seven  eyes."  In  Zech.  4 :  10  they  are 
referred  to  as  "the  eyes  of  Jehovah  which  run  to 
and  fro  through  the  whole  earth."  Further  than 
this  we  would  not  attempt  to  intrude  into  the 
mysteries  of  divinity.  3.  Lastly,  from  Jesus  Christ. 
All  of  these  join  together  in  a  salutation  of  grace 
and  peace  to  the  church  universal  through  the  seven 
churches.  While  storm  and  struggle  and  strife  may 
engulf  the  church,  the  infinite  care  and  love  of  the 
everlasting  God,  whose  "seven  eyes  run  to  and  fro 
throughout  the  earth,"  will  not  fail,  nor  will  the 
threefold  function  of  Christ  cease.  His  office  in 
its  triplex  nature  is  explicitly  stated.  1.  He  is  "the 
faithful  witness."  Faithfully  does  he  reveal  the 
will  of  God  concerning  man.  He  is  our  Prophet 
and  Teacher.  2.  He  is  "the  firstborn  from  the 
dead."  He  is  risen  and  ascended  into  heaven  and 
become  "our  great  High  Priest."  3.  He  is  "the 
ruler  of  the  kings  of  the  earth."  In  this  phrase 
his  divine  sovereignty  is  declared,  and  therefore  he 
is  our  Lord.  John  then  bursts  forth  into  an  ascrip- 
tion of  praise  to  Christ  for  a  threefold  work  which 
he  has  done  for  his  servants.  1.  He  "loved  us." 
2.  He  "loosed  us  from  our  sins."  3.  He  "made  us 
to  be  a  kingdom,  to  be  priests  unto  his  God  and 

f52 


VISION  OF  THE  GOLDEN  CANDLESTICKS 

Father."  This  glorious  heritage  of  the  children  of 
God  is  to  be  realized  at  "his  appearing  and  his 
kingdom."  Hence  it  furnishes  the  opportunity  to 
pass  naturally  to  the  announcement  of  that  tran- 
scendent theme,  the  second  coming  of  Christ.  "Be- 
hold, he  Cometh  with  the  clouds;  and  every  eye 
shall  see  him."  As  the  eyes  of  the  aged  apostle  are 
permitted  to  feast  upon  the  glorious  beauty  of  the 
heavenly  world  and  mystery  after  mystery  is 
revealed  to  him  in  divine  symbolism,  that  one 
momentous  event  is  that  toward  which  all  others 
are  tending.  The  absolute  certainty  of  his  glorious 
appearing  is  guaranteed  by  the  nature  and  character 
of  God.  "I  am  the  Alpha  and  the  Omega,  saith  the 
Lord  God,  who  is  and  who  was  and  who  is  to 
come,  the  Almighty"  (v.  8).  John  was  writing  in 
the  Greek  language,  and  "Alpha"  and  "Omega"  are 
the  first  and  last  letters  of  the  alphabet.  Therefore 
he  is  the  first  and  last,  the  all  and  in  all.  He  is 
the  goal  toward  which  all  events  are  tending.  Hence 
there  is  absolutely  no  possibility  of  failure  in  the 
fulfillment  of  the  prophecy  just  beginning  to  be 
announced.  Jesus  will  appear  In  the  clouds  as  the 
crowning  climax  of  the  mighty  struggle  that  shall 
take  place  in  the  meantime,  and  "every  eye  shall 
see  him."  At  that  time  the  entire  human  race  will 
be  privileged  to  see  In  reality  the  regal  form  of 
him  whom  John  saw  but  In  vision. 

The    first    expression    of    the 

author  as  he  begins  a  description 

of  the  things  which  he  saw  and 

heard   is   remarkable.     No   other   Scripture   writer 

53 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

except  Daniel  in  the  Old  Testament  uses  this  form. 
The  expressions  "I  Daniel"  and  "I  John"  link  the 
two  books  together  as  being  of  the  same  nature. 
The  subject-matter  of  the  Book  of  Revelation  will 
run  parallel  with  that  of  the  Book  of  Daniel  in 
so  far  as  the  prophecies  of  the  latter  were  unful- 
filled at  the  time.  The  usages  of  symbolism  will 
be  the  same  in  both  books.  Striking  indeed  is  the 
parallel  between  the  circumstances  surrounding  both 
writers.  Daniel  was  an  exile  from  his  native  land 
in  company  with  the  chosen  people  of  God.  John 
is  an  exile  on  a  lonely  isle  as  well  as  a  "brother 
and  partaker"  with  the  Christians  in  their  tribu- 
lations. As  Daniel  "was  fallen  into  a  deep  sleep" 
after  that  he  received  the  divine  visitation,  so  John 
fell  at  the  feet  of  the  glorious  One  that  he  saw 
"as  one  dead." 

The  circumstances  surrounding  the  appearance 
of  the  initial  visions  are  narrated  with  exactness. 
Although  in  the  solitude  of  the  island  prison-house, 
the  aged  exile  was  denied  the  fellowship  and 
sympathy  of  his  brethren,  yet  upon  this  first  day 
of  the  week  he  entered  into  a  more  blessed  fellow- 
ship and  experienced  a  more  tender  sympathy  than 
was  ever  known  to  man  before.  "I  was  in  the 
Spirit  on  the  Lord's  day."  The  Catholic  Church 
did  not  change  the  day  of  worship  from  the  seventh 
day  to  the  first  as  some  of  her  teachers  claim. 
Constantine  did  not  make  the  change  as  some 
Sabbatarians  claim.  Constantine  only  legalized  the 
first  day  of  the  week  by  forbidding  certain  kinds 
of  labor  to   be  performed,   just   as   has  been   done 

54 


VISION  OF  THE  GOLDEN  CANDLESTICKS 

by  various  states.  The  first  day  of  the  week  had 
been  observed  as  a  day  of  reHgious  service  from 
the  very  beginning  of  the  church  on  the  day  of 
Pentecost.  Here,  in  the  year  96  A.  D.,  we  find 
it  commonly  known  and  spoken  of  as  "the  Lord's 
day."  This  day  was  made  memorable  by  visions 
of  heavenly  splendor  and  by  revelations  of  vital 
moment  far  surpassing  anything  experienced  by 
saint  or  prophet. 

The  solitude  of  the  barren  rock  was  broken  by 
"a  great  voice,  as  of  a  trumpet,  saying,  What  thou 
seest,  write  in  a  book  and  send  it  to  the  seven 
churches."  Thus  the  Apocalypse  is  opened  with 
the  sound  of  a  trumpet.  The  blowing  of  the 
trumpet  was  the  signal  for  the  gathering  of  the 
congregation  (Num.  10:3).  In  Ex.  19:19  it  is 
the  signal  for  the  revelation  of  the  law.  Here 
the  "great  voice,  as  of  a  trumpet,"  is  the  signal 
that  the  revelation  of  the  panorama  of  all  future 
human  history  is  about  to  be  given.  A  preview  of 
these  events  until  the  final  consummation  of  all 
things  in  the  new  heavens  and  new  earth  was  to 
be  recorded  in  a  book.  Turning  to  "see  the  voice," 
John  gazed  upon  a  vision  of  divine  splendor  which 
held  him  entranced.  Seven  golden  candlesticks 
stood  in  the  foreground.  This  was  the  first  and 
most  prominent  feature.  In  a  moment  of  time 
the  mind  reverts  back  to  the  ancient  tabernacle, 
v/herein  the  golden  candlestick  with  seven  arms 
was  kept  burning  continually,  and  to  the  vision  of 
Zechariah,  where  a  similar  candlestick  with  seven 
lamps    is    supplied    with    oil    from    two    olive-trees 

55 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

(Zech.  4:2,  3).  The  candlestick  in  this  vision  does 
not  stand  alone  as  an  article  of  furniture,  as  that 
of  the  ancient  house  of  God,  but  immediately  the 
figure  of  a  heavenly  being  begins  to  materialize  in 
the  midst  of  them.  So  appareled  in  divine  splendor 
was  he  that  the  aged  apostle  "fell  at  his  feet  as 
one  dead."  He  v^as  "like  unto  a  son  of  man." 
Daniel  describes  the  same  being  as  a  man  in  Dan. 
10:5,  6,  but  six  centuries  had  intervened  betv^een 
the  two  visions.  It  was  not  the  Son  of  man  that 
John  knew  as  his  daily  companion,  but  the  trans- 
figured One  that  he  saw  on  Mt.  Hermon.  Here, 
as  he  stands  in  the  midst  of  the  churches,  he  is 
arrayed  in  the  garment  of  his  great  High  Priest- 
hood, with  a  golden  girdle  about  his  breasts.  When 
Daniel  saw  him  he  wore  the  girdle  about  his  loins, 
denoting  a  preparedness  for  travel  or  labor.  His 
head  and  his  hair  manifested  that  same  divine 
whiteness  as  the  one  who  is  called  the  "ancient  of 
days"  in  Dan.  7 : 9.  His  eyes  and  his  feet  and  his 
voice  are  the  same  as  those  of  the  one  whom 
Daniel  saw,  significant  of  the  overpowering  splendor 
and  glory  with  which  he  appeared  to  these  two 
prophets.  Now  as  he  stands  in  the  midst  of  the 
candlesticks  he  has  in  "his  right  hand  seven  stars: 
and  out  of  his  mouth  proceeded  a  sharp  two-edged 
sword :  and  hi*;  countenance  was  as  the  sun  shineth 
in  his  strength"  (v.  16V  As  this  glorious  being 
stands  in  the  midst  of  the  candlesticks,  arrayed  as 
a  high  priest,  he  is  equipped  for  both  defense  and 
ofiFense. 

The    "man"    who    presented    himself   to    Daniel 

56 


VISION  OF  THE  GOLDEN  CANDLESTICKS 

in  beatific  vision  came  to  make  him  understand 
what  should  befall  his  people  in  the  latter  days 
(Dan.  10:  14).  So  this  one  like  unto  "a  son  of 
man"  appears  in  a  similar  vision  to  make  John 
understand  what  should  befall  the  church  in  the 
latter  days.  As  the  "man"  touched  Daniel  and 
caused  him  to  stand  on  his  feet,  saying  to  him, 
"Fear  not,  Daniel,"  so  this  one  like  unto  "a  son 
of  man"  laid  his  right  hand — the  one  containing 
the  seven  stars — upon  John,  saying,  "Fear  not:  I 
am  the  first  and  the  last,  and  the  Living  one;  and 
I  was  dead,  and  behold,  I  am  alive  for  evermore, 
and  I  have  the  keys  of  death  and  of  Hades.  Write 
the  things  which  thou  sawest,  and  the  things  which 
are,  and  the  things  which  shall  come  to  pass  here- 
after" (vs.  17-19).  No  one  can  fail  to  comprehend 
the  one  who  speaks.  He  claims  to  possess  the 
characteristic  attributes  of  the  Father.  He  it  was 
who  said,  "I  and  my  Father  are  one."  No  com- 
ment could  make  plainer  that  the  glorious  One 
in  the  midst  of  the  candlesticks  is  the  visional  mani- 
festation of  him  who  was  the  triumphant  victor 
over  the  grave.  He  is  the  Son  of  God,  who  has 
authority  over  death  and  Hades. 

We  need   no   aid   of   scholar- 
ys  ery     e-  ^^^^  ^^   understand   the   meaning 

of  the  mystery  involved  in  this 
vision.  The  glorious  One  himself  reveals  the 
meaning  of  it.  Our  minds  revert  to  the  thirteenth 
chapter  of  Matthew,  where  an  interpretation  of  the 
first  two  parables  is  given  as  a  guide  to  our  inter- 
pretation of  those  that   follow.     So  here  he  gives 

67 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

an  interpretation  of  the  first  apocalyptic  vision  to 
guide  us  in  our  understanding  of  those  that  follow. 
When  the  divine  interpreter  utters  the  words,  "the 
mystery  of  the  seven  stars  and  the  seven  golden 
candlesticks,"  he  makes  us  to  understand  that 
Revelation  is  the  unfolding  of  their  m.ystery.  We 
also  understand  that  we  are  not  dealing  with 
language  used  in  its  literal  sense.  He  shows  us 
that  symbolism  is  intelligible  and  may  be  translated 
into  language  which  we  may  understand  literally. 
We  find  that  the  stars  in  the  vision  are  not  to  be 
understood  as  stars  that  shine  so  resplendently  in 
the  sky  upon  a  clear  night,  but  they  are  "angels  of 
the  seven  churches."  The  seven  candlesticks  are 
not  to  be  understood  as  seven  articles  made  of 
gold,  for  they  "are  the  seven  churches."  We  have 
now  the  divine  rule  laid  down  for  us  as  we  strive 
to  understand  the  remaining  mysteries  given  in 
the  book.  What  divine  truths  stand  out  before  us 
as  we  understand  the  significance  of  the  candle- 
sticks. The  church  is  as  a  candlestick.  It  is  a 
light-bearer.  It  burns  continually.  The  great  High 
Priest,  with  the  sharp  two-edged  sword  in  his  mouth, 
is  in  the  midst  of  the  churches.  While  the  candle- 
sticks were  the  first  visible  features,  it  was  at  the 
appearance  of  the  glorious  One  that  the  apostle  fell 
to  the  ground.  It  is  only  when  the  Christ  is  manifest 
in  the  church  to-day  that  men  will  be  overawed  and 
fall  prostrate  at  his  feet. 

Christ  did  not  translate  the  symbolism  of  the 
seven  stars  into  literal  terms,  but  gave  its  meaning 
in    a    figurative    expression    that    would    be    easily 

58 


VISION  OF  THE  GOLDEN  CANDLESTICKS 

understcx)d  by  the  apostle  John.  The  term  "angels" 
does  not  imply  that  these  are  heavenly  beings,  for 
in  chapters  2  and  3  we  have  the  letters  to  the 
churches  addressed  to  the  ''angels."  The  heavenly 
angels  are  message-bearers  from  God  to  men,  but 
these  "angels"  are  connected  with  the  churches.  A 
Scripture  definition  of  angel  is:  "Are  they  not  all 
ministering  spirits  sent  forth  to  do  service  for  the 
sake  of  them  that  shall  inherit  salvation?"  They 
are  the  servants  and  ministers  of  the  churches. 
The  apostle  John  was  lower  than  the  heavenly 
angels.  It  would  be  contrary  to  reason  and  nature 
that  he  should  write  letters  to  them.  The  inscrip- 
tion tells  us  that  this  revelation  was  to  be  shown 
unto  "his  servants,"  and  when  John  writes  to  the 
"angel"  of  the  church  he  is  addressing  a  servant 
of  Christ.  The  term  "star"  gives  us  an  indication 
of  the  characteristics  of  these  "angels"  or  servants. 
A  star  is  a  conspicuous  object  in  the  firmament. 
These  angels  are,  then,  conspicuous  figures  in  the 
churches.  The  conspicuousness  of  a  star  is  due  to 
its  light-giving  nature.  These  ministers  or  servants 
of  the  churches  are  men  who,  "in  the  midst  of  a 
crooked  and  perverse  generation,  are  seen  as  lights 
in  the  world,  holding  forth  the  word  of  life"  (Phil. 
2:15,  16).  Jesus  himself  is  called  the  Morning 
Star.  A  solemn  thought  comes  to  us  as  we  behold 
these  conspicuous  men  being  held  in  the  right 
hand  of  him  who  is  in  the  midst  of  the  candle- 
sticks. They  are  in  his  power.  He  is  able  to 
crush  the  most  brilliant  as  well  as  able  to  protect 
and    sustain    the    weakest    and    humblest    minister 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

under  all  circumstances.  Lord  Jesus,  make  us  to 
know  that  we  are  in  thy  hand  at  all  times  of 
stress  and  trial,  and  that  thou  wilt  sustain  us  in 
all  adversity.  "Blessed  is  he  that  readeth,  and  they 
that  hear  the  words  of  the  prophecy." 


60 


CHAPTER  III. 
LETTERS  TO  THE  SEVEN  CHURCHES 

OUT  of  the  many  churches  in  existence  in  96 
A.  D.,  seven  were  chosen  to  be  the  recipients 
of  the  book  that  John  was  commissioned  to  write. 
"What  thou  seest,  write  in  a  book  and  send  it 
unto  the  seven  churches:  unto  Ephesus,  and  unto 
Smyrna,  and  unto  Pergamum,  and  unto  Thyatira, 
and  unto  Sardis,  and  unto  Philadelphia,  and  unto 
Laodicea"   (ch.  1:11). 

Ephesus  was  the  scene  of  the  labors  of  the 
apostle  in  his  declining  years,  and  was  the  political 
as  well  as  the  religious  metropolis  of  proconsular 
Asia.  It  was  also  the  seat  of  the  worship  of  Diana, 
the  goddess  of  the  Ephesians.  Smyrna  was  situated 
on  the  i^gean  Sea,  north  of  Ephesus,  and  was  a 
flourishing  center  of  commerce  under  the  Romans. 
It  was  the  reputed  birthplace  of  Homer.  Pergamum 
was  situated  in  Mysia,  and  was  the  most  northerly 
of  the  seven  cities  named.  It  was  a  city  of  temples 
— Athene,  Apollo,  Aphrodite,  Dionysius  and  Zeus 
being  worshiped.  It  possessed  a  famous  library  of 
two  hundred  thousand  volumes,  which  was  founded 
197-195  B.  C.  Thyatira  was  situated  southeast  of 
Pergamum  and  north  of  Sardis.  It  was  the  home 
of  Lydia,  PauFs  first  convert  in  Europe.    Its  inhab- 

61 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

itants  were  composed  of  peoples  of  many  races. 
Sardis,  the  ancient  capital  of  Lydia,  was  situated 
south  of  Thyatira  and  about  three  days'  journey 
east  of  Ephesus.  Sardis  was  the  residence  of 
Croesus,  and,  in  the  olden  time,  was  noted  for  its 
riches  and  luxury.  Philadelphia  was  also  situated 
in  Lydia  and  was  southeast  of  Sardis.  It  was 
founded  in  138  B.  C.  Many  times  it  suffered 
greatly  from  earthquakes,  and  in  17  A.  D.  was 
almost  wholly  destroyed.  Laodicea  was  situated  in 
Phrygia  and  not  far  from  Colosse.  It  was  an 
important  commercial  center  in  the  interior.  It  was 
laid  in  ruins  by  an  earthquake  in  63  A.  D.,  but  it 
was  soon  restored. 

The  local  conditions  in  these  seven  churches 
named  may  have  been  such  as  are  described  in  the 
letters  addressed  to  them,  but  we  do  not  pause  to 
speculate  in  regard  to  the  matter.  The  letters 
themselves  show  that  they  are  not  to  be  understood 
as  applying  only  to  the  conditions  in  the  church 
addressed.  Near  the  close  of  each  Epistle  is  an 
exhortation  which  clearly  indicates  that  its  message, 
while  addressed  to  the  angel  of  a  particular  church, 
is  of  larger  application.  "He  that  hath  an  ear,  let 
him  hear  what  the  Spirit  saith  to  the  churches." 
According  to  this  exhortation,  the  message  to  any 
one  church  is  for  the  "churches."  The  expression, 
"He  that  hath  an  ear,  let  him  hear,"  indicates  that 
the  letter  to  a  particular  church  is  as  a  message 
to  the  universal  Christian  intelligence  and  there- 
fore ,  a  revelation  to  the  universal  church.  The 
seven   letters   taken   together   form   one   continuous 

62 


LETTERS  TO  THE  SEVEN   CHURCHES 

revelation   of   the   church    from   96   A.    D,    to   the 

second  coming  of  Christ, 

The  glorious  vision  that  introduces  these  letters 
indicates  that  they  are  concerning  the  church  univer- 
sal rather  than  seven  local  congregations.  The 
vision  of  the  seven  candlesticks  which  are  inter- 
preted to  mean  the  seven  churches  is  a  united 
whole.  The  appearance  of  one  "like  unto  a  son 
of  man,"  holding  the  seven  stars  in  one  hand  and 
standing  in  the  midst  of  the  candlesticks,  determines 
the  fact  of  the  underlying  unity  in  a  seven-fold 
form.  Each  candlestick  represents  a  division  or 
period  in  the  moral  and  spiritual  history  of  the 
universal  church.  These  periods  begin  with  the 
conditions  that  prevailed  in  the  church  at  large  in 
the  year  96  A.  D.,  and  follow  each  other  in  succes- 
sion until  "Christ  stands  at  the  door  and  knocks." 
We  remember  that  the  revelation  was  "sign-i-fied" 
by  the  angel  to  his  "servant  John."  Ephesus, 
Smyrna,  Pergamum,  etc.,  are  but  signs  or  symbols 
of  the  church  in  its  seven-fold  development,  har- 
monizing with  the  structure  of  the  second  and 
third  parts  of  the  book.  As  the  creative  period  of 
the  -earth  is  divided  into  seven  parts,  so  in  the 
S'ene^is  of  the  church  we  find  the  septiform  division. 
V/hile,  from  the  very  nature  of  things,  no  accurate 
date  can  be  given  for  the  ending  of  one  period  and 
the  beginning  of  the  next,  yet  details  are  furnished 
in  each  letter  sufficient  to  enable  us  to  locate  each 
division  in  a  general  way.  The  outstanding  char- 
acteristics of  each  successive  historical  period  de- 
termine the  approximate  limits  of  its  duration. 

63 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

In  common  with  the  other  letters, 
this  one  has  a  definite  plan.  1.  It 
is  addressed  to  the  angel  of  the 
church.  2.  It  is  introduced  by  a  salutation  of  the 
one  whom  John  saw  in  the  vision  and  ascribing  to 
him  some  of  the  divine  characteristics  mentioned  in 
his  description.  3.  An  address  giving  the  conditions 
of  the  church  and  giving  such  warning  or  praise  as 
those  conditions  demand.  4,  Announcement  of  what 
will  come  to  pass  in  the  future.  5.  A  promise  to 
him  that  overcometh.  6.  An  exhortation  to  hear 
what  the  Spirit  saith  unto  the  churches.  In  each 
letter  the  address  to  the  church  is  introduced  by 
the  same  expression,  "I  know."  In  five  of  them 
it  is,  "I  know  thy  works ;"  in  one  it  is,  "I  know  thy 
tribulations,"  and  in  the  other  it  is,  "I  know  where 
thou  dwellest."  In  every  case  the  fact  of  the  abso- 
lute knowledge  of  the  speaker  is  the  first  truth 
revealed.  Nothing  is  hid  from  the  understanding 
and  knowledge  of  the  Christ,  even  to  the  minutest 
detail.  All  things  are  open  to  the  eyes  of  Him 
with  whom  we  have  to  do.  We  have,  therefore, 
the  absolute  assurance  that  the  development  or 
retrogression  of  the  spiritual  life  of  the  church 
will  be  foretold  with  as  much  accuracy  as  if  it  were 
already  a  matter  of  history. 

While  the  conditions  in  the  local  congregation 
may  have  been,  and  most  likely  were,  those  described 
in  the  letter  to  Ephesus,  yet  this  manner  of  address 
is  symbolical  and  applies  to  the  first  period  of 
Christianity,  beginning  with  the  year  96  A.  D.  The 
evidences    of   this    are    found    in    the    letter    itself. 

64 


LETTERS   TO   THE  SEVEN   CHURCHES 

About  thirty  years  had  passed  by  since  the  death 
of  Paul  and  the  other  apostles  when  John  received 
this  revelation.  About  twenty-six  years  had  elapsed 
since  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  and  during  this 
period  the  residence  of  John  was  at  Ephesus. 
Naturally,  after  the  apostles  were  gone  impostors 
would  arise  pretending  to  have  apostolic  power  and 
authority.  Paul  warned  the  elders  of  the  church  of 
Ephesus  in  these  words:  "I  know  that  after  my 
departing  grievous  wolves  shall  enter  in  among 
you,  not  sparing  the  flock;  and  from  among  your 
own  selves  shall  men  arise,  speaking  perverse  things, 
to  draw  away  the  disciples  after  them"  (Acts  20: 
29,  30).  It  would  be  difficult,  however,  for  an 
impostor  to  successfully  impose  his  pretensions 
upon  the  congregation  while  the  apostle  John  was 
present  with  it.  It  would  seem  that  Ephesus  would 
be  the  very  last  place  that  an  impostor  would  come 
until  after  John's  death.  The  spirit  of  apostasy 
indicated  in  the  statement,  "Thou  didst  leave  thy 
first  love,"  and  which  was  prevalent  throughout 
the  entire  church,  had  its  incipiency  about  the  time 
of  the  death  of  the  apostles.  Paul,  writing  to  the 
Thessalonians,  said:  "The  mystery  of  lawlessness 
doth  already  work"  (2  Thess.  2:7).  He  warns 
Timothy  about  the  troublous  conditions  that  should 
arise  (2  Tim.  3:1-8).  Peter,  also,  warns  the 
Christians,  to  whom  he  addressed  his  second  letter, 
of  the  false  teachers  that  should  arise  (2  Pet.  2). 
Jude  devotes  his  Epistle  to  the  same  subject.  It 
would  seem,  therefore,  that  these  conditions  would 
be  more  likely  to  prevail  to  a  greater  degree  in  the 

65 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

church  at  large  than  in  the  one  congregation  that 
enjoyed  the  presence  of  the  one  remaining  apostle. 
In  the  thirty  years  that  passed  by  since  the  death 
of  most  of  the  miraculously  endowed  men,  sufficient 
time  has  elapsed  for  false  apostles  to  arise  and 
their  imposture  to  be  made  manifest.  These  con- 
ditions prevail  until  possibly  193  A.  D.,  or  the 
opening  of  the  second  seal. 

It  was  during  this  period  that  the  religious 
system  known  as  Gnosticism  attained  its  greatest 
influence.    The  nature  of  it  is  indicated  by  Milman: 

"Cerinthus  was  the  first,  of  whose  tenets  we  have  any- 
distinct  statement,  who,  admitting  the  truth  of  Christianity, 
attempted  to  incorporate  with  it  foreign  and  Oriental  tenets. 
His  system  was  a  singular  and  apparently  incongruous  fusion 
of  Jewish,  Christian  and  Oriental  notions.  He  did  not,  like 
Simon  or  Menander,  invest  himself  in  a  sacred  and  mys- 
terious character,  though  he  pretended  to  angelic  revelations." 
— History  of  Christianity,  Vol.  H.,  p.  59. 

Gnosticism  spread  throughout  Christendom  and 
was  most  popular  about  140-150  A.  D.  Among  the 
most  renowned  of  these  teachers  were  Cerinthus, 
Tatian  and  Marcion.  The  Nicolaitans  were  a  sect 
having  an  immoral  form  of  worship  originating  with 
Nicolas,  one  of  the  seven  deacons,  and  who,  tradition 
says,  was  guilty  of  apostasy  from  the  faith.  The 
Ephesian  period  is  that  in  which  Gnosticism  attained 
its  greatest  prominence  (96-193  A.  D.). 

This  period  of  the  history  of 

^^  *  Christianity  is  marked  by  extreme 

,    *     '   '  tribulation.      It   is   introduced   by 

the  expression:  "I  know  thy  tribulation."     Then  it 

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LETTERS  TO  THE  SEVEN   CHURCHES 

closes  with  the  promise  of  tribulation  for  "ten 
days."  The  period  indicated  by  these  expressions 
is  166-313  A.  D.  It  began  with  the  persecution 
under  Marcus  Aurelius  in  the  year  166  A.  D.  It 
was  during  this  persecution  that  Justin  Martyr  and 
Polycarp  suffered  martyrdom.  Following  this,  there 
were  six  periods  of  persecution:  the  one  under 
Septimus,  202-211  A.  D. ;  under  Maximian,  235- 
238  A.  D.;  under  Decius,  250-253  A.  D.;  under 
Valerian,  257-260  A.  D. ;  under  Aurelian,  275  A.  D., 
and  under  Diocletian,  303-313  A.  D. 

The  first  statement  of  the  letter  describes  the 
church  as  emerging  from  a  bitter  and  universal 
persecution  in  which  many  of  her  godly  leaders 
suffered  martyrdom.  The  last  statement  describes 
the  persecution  with  which  the  Smyrna  period  would 
close.  This  was  to  last  "ten  days."  The  question 
at  once  arises.  Are  these  literal  days  of  twenty- four 
hours  each,  or  do  they  represent  longer  periods  of 
time?  The  question  must  be  answered  by  the 
Scripture  itself.  It  is  true  that  in  some  of  the 
prophecies  of  the  Scripture  we  find  the  time  limit 
of  the  prediction  plainly  given  as  in  the  seventy 
years  of  the  Jewish  captivity,  but  the  prophecies  of 
Daniel  and  John  do  not  belong  in  the  same  class 
with  those  of  Jeremiah.  Daniel  and  John  did  not 
see  the  events  of  the  future,  but  they  saw  the 
symbols  of  these  events.  They  saw  all  of  the 
epoch-making  events  marshaled  together  in  the  small 
compass  of  a  few  visions.  Sometimes  the  history  of 
centuries  was  symbolized  in  the  vision  concerning 
one  beast,  the  rise  and   fall  of  a  mighty  kingdom 

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THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

portrayed  in  one  horn.  When  a  geographer  wishes 
to  draw  a  map  of  a  continent  upon  a  sheet  of 
paper,  he  is  compelled  to  reduce  all  measurements 
proportionately.  The  architect  does  precisely  the 
same  thing  when  he  draws  the  plan  of  a  large 
building.  Each  draws  to  scale.  One  may  use  an 
eighth  of  an  inch  to  represent  a  hundred  miles, 
while  the  other  may  use  it  to  represent  one  foot. 
There  is  no  difficulty  in  understanding  the  measure- 
ments of  the  continent  or  of  the  building  if  we 
understand  the  scale  used  in  each  drawing.  In  both 
of  these  prophecies  we  find  many  centuries  of  his- 
tory brought  together  in  small  compass.  We  know, 
then,  that  "a  day"  represents  a  much  larger  period 
of  time,  and  the  only  problem  we  have  is  to  deter- 
mine the  scale  to  which  this  chart  of  prophetic 
history  is  drawn.  One  scale  is  given  in  2  Pet.  3:8: 
"But  forget  not  this  one  thing,  beloved,  that  one 
day  is  with  the  Lord  as  a  thousand  years,  and  a 
thousand  years  as  one  day."  Here  a  day  is  equal 
to  a  thousand  years,  but  this  scale  is  to  apply  to 
the  day  of  judgment  mentioned  in  the  preceding 
verse.  Another  scale  is  given  in  Num.  14 :  34 : 
"After  the  number  of  days  in  which  ye  spied  out 
the  land,  even  forty  days,  for  every  day  a  year, 
shall  ye  bear  your  iniquities,  even  forty  years." 
Again,  Ezekiel  is  given  the  same  scale  of  a  day 
for  a  year:  "Forty  days,  each  day  for  a  year,  have 
I  appointed  it  unto  thee"  (Ezek.  4:6).  The  same 
declaration  is  made  in  verse  5.  What  scale  do 
John  and  Daniel  use?  Fortunately,  Daniel  gives  us 
the  answer  to  our  question.     In  the  ninth  chapter 

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LETTERS  TO   THE  SEVEN   CHURCHES 

of  Daniel  we  have  a  definite  prophecy  concerning 
the  Messiah:  "Know  therefore  and  discern,  that 
from  the  going  forth  of  the  commandment  to 
restore  and  build  Jerusalem  unto  the  anointed  one, 
the  prince,  shall  be  seven  weeks,  and  threescore  and 
two  weeks"  (Dan.  9:25).  The  total  of  this  is 
sixty-nine  weeks,  or  483  days.  The  date  of  the 
issuance  of  this  decree  was  457  B.  C.  The  date  of 
the  beginning  of  the  ministry  of  Jesus  was  the 
latter  part  of  the  year  26  A.  D.  The  length  of 
time  intervening  was  483  years,  and  Daniel  in  his 
prophecy  says  it  is  483  days.  Therefore  the  time 
scale  which  Daniel  uses  is  a  day  for  a  year.  John 
uses  the  same  time  limits  as  Daniel,  as  can  be  seen 
by  a  comparison  of  the  two  books. 

The  ten  days  of  tribulation  referred  to  in  the 
Smyrna  period  mean  ten  years,  and  were  fulfilled 
by  the  persecution  which  began  under  Diocletian 
in  303  A.  D.  and  continued  until  313  A.  D. 
Milman  says  concerning  the  extent  of  this  perse- 
cution : 

"In  almost  every  part  of  the  world,  Christianity  found 
itself  at  once  assailed  by  the  full  force  of  the  civil  power, 
constantly  goaded  on  by  the  united  influence  of  the  pagan 
priesthood  and  the  philosophic  party.  .  .  .  Edict  followed 
edict,  rising  in  regular  gradations  of  angry  barbarity.  The 
whole  clergy  were  declared  enemies  of  the  state ;  they  were 
seized  wherever  a  hostile  prefect  chose  to  put  forth  his 
boundless  authority;  and  bishops,  presbyters  and  deacons 
were  crowded  into  prisons  intended  for  the  basest  malefac- 
tors."— History  of  Christianity,  Vol.  IL,  p.  225. 

This    period    closes    with    Licinius'    "Edict    of 

69 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

Toleration,"  issued  Jan.  13,  313  A.  D.  How  much 
those  early  Christians  needed  the  comforting  promise 
of  the  Master:  "Be  thou  faithful  unto  death,  and 
I  will  give  thee  a  crown  of  life." 

In  the  letter  to  the  "angel  of 
Pcrgamum:  ^^^    church    in    Pergamum"    we 

ev.  2:12-17  ^^^^    indications    of    a    tendency 

far  more  dangerous  to  the  pure  faith  of  the  gospel 
than  the  bitter  persecutions  of  Diocletian  and  his 
successors.  "I  know  where  thou  dwellest,  even 
where  Satan's  throne  is"  (v.  13).  The  evil  influence 
can  not  but  seriously  affect  the  church  that  is  in 
close  proximity  to  the  seat  of  Satan's  power  and 
authority.  In  the  twelfth  chapter  there  is  a  descrip- 
tion of  a  great  red  dragon  that  seeks  to  destroy  the 
man  child,  and,  failing  in  this,  persecutes  the  church, 
symbolized  by  the  woman  and  her  seed.  In  Rev. 
20 : 2  this  dragon  is  identified  as  Satan.  Now,  the 
power  that  persecuted  the  woman  and  her  seed 
was  the  pagan  Roman  Empire,  and  its  seat  or 
capital  was  Rome.  The  period  of  church  history 
described  by  this  letter  is  that  when  Christianity 
came  into  intimate  relationship  with  the  civil  govern- 
ment of  Rome,  beginning  about  313  A.  D.  A 
quotation  from  Milman's  "History  of  Christianity" 
shows  the  relationship  that  appeared  when  Con- 
stantine  won  control.     He  says: 

"The  Roman  religion  sank  with  the  Roman  supremacy. 
The  new  empire  welcomed  the  new  religion  as  its  ally  and 
associate  in  the  government  of  the  human  mind.  The  empire 
lent  its  countenance,  its  sanction,  at  length  its  power,  to 
Christianity."— Vol.  IL,  p.  249. 

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LETTERS   TO   THE  SEVEN   CHURCHES 

Coming  in  close  contact  with  the  power  of  the 
Roman  state,  and  entering  into  friendly  relations 
with  it,  apostasy  begins  to  develop  rapidly.  The 
development  of  the  bishopric,  which  had  its  begin- 
ning at  about  the  end  of  the  second  century,  was 
now  accelerated.  Hierarchical  pretensions  were  on 
the  increase.  The  influence  of  the  bishop  of  the 
church  in  Rome  was  being  more  firmly  established. 
It  was  not  to  be  wondered  that  during  this  period 
there  were  some  "that  hold  the  teaching  of  Balaam, 
who  taught  Balak  to  cast  a  stumbling-block  before 
the  children  of  Israel,  to  eat  things  sacrificed  to 
idols,  and  to  commit  fornication."  Arianism  had 
its  rise  about  317  A.  D.  The  Council  of  Nice, 
summoned  not  by  the  church,  but  by  the  Roman 
emperor,  assembled  325  A.  D.,  and  promulgated  the 
Nicean  Creed.  The  Council  of  Tyre,  assembled  in 
335  A.  D.,  and  the  Council  of  Constantinople,  336 
A.  D.,  resulted  in  the  division  of  Christendom. 
During  the  reign  of  Constantius  (337-361  A.  D.) 
one-half  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Roman  Empire 
profess  Christianity,  and  it  is  established  as  the 
religion  of  state.  During  this  period  Mani  attempted 
to  unite  the  conflicting  elements  of  the  Oriental 
religions  with  Christianity.  It  is  not  strange  that 
when  Christianity  succeeded  to  the  throne  of  the 
Caesars,  there  should  also  come  a  laxity  of  morals, 
and  that  there  should  be  "some  that  hold  the  teach- 
ing of  the  Nicolaitans."  The  general  tendencies  of 
this  period  until  476  A.  D.,  which  marks  the  down- 
fall of  the  western  Roman  Empire,  were  away  from 
the  simplicity  and  purity  of  the  Christian  life. 

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THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

The    tendencies    to    apostasy 
Thyatira:  ^^^^    ^^^    ^^^^    ^^^    ^j^pj^    ^^-^ 

Rev.  2: 18-29  ^^  ^j^^jg^  ^^^^  accelerated  by  the 
successive  invasions  of  the  Goths  (410  A.  D.),  the 
Vandals  (422  A.  D.),  the  Huns  (451  A.  D.),  and 
by  the  final  overthrow  of  Rome  by  Odoacer  in 
476  A.  D.  It  is  natural  that  the  religion  of  the 
conquerors  would  leave  its  impress  upon  the  religion 
of  the  conquered.  Also,  during  the  last  period,  the 
influence  of  the  church  at  Rome  had  gradually 
increased.  Innocent  I.,  bishop  of  Rome,  required  all 
western  churches  to  conform  to  the  church  of 
Rome  (416  A.  D.).  Valentinian  III.  decreed  that 
all  bishops  of  the  western  empire  obey  the  bishop 
of  Rome  (425  A.  D.).  The  time  is  now  ripe  for 
the  development  of  the  harlot  church.  The  out- 
standing statements  of  this  letter  are  warnings  con- 
cerning a  woman.  Following  the  division  of  the 
kingdom  of  David  into  the  kingdoms  of  Israel  and 
Judah,  the  name  of  Jezebel  became  a  synonym  of 
everything  that  was  wicked.  Now  that  Christendom 
has  become  divided  into  the  eastern  and  western 
churches  since  336  A.  D.,  no  more  fitting  symbol  of 
the  apostasy  that  is  developing  could  be  found  than 
the  wicked  queen  of  Ahab,  and  she  corresponds  to 
the  harlot  described  in  Revelation  17,  as  "sitting 
upon  a  scarlet-colored  beast."  The  description  given 
in  this  letter  is  so  plain  that  none  could  mistake  the 
purpose  of  it  to  describe  that  period  of  religious 
history  when  the  Papacy  was  in  the  ascendency, 
beginning  with  476  A.  D.  and  continuing  until  the 
Reformation  of  Martin  Luther. 

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LETTERS  TO  THE  SEVEN   CHURCHES 

During  the  dark  days  of  the 
*^  *^*  last  period  the  true  church  was 

Rev.  3:1-6  "nourished     in     the     wilderness" 

(Rev.  12:  14),  while  the  Pope  boldly  claimed  to  be 
the  vicar  of  Christ  and  the  Papal  system  mas- 
queraded as  the  "holy  church."  Those  who  still 
clung  to  a  semblance  of  the  primitive  faith  and 
refused  to  yield  to  the  blandishments  of  Jezebel 
were  hidden  away  from  the  view  of  the  world  as 
were  their  compatriots  in  the  days  of  Ahab.  The 
time  has  now  dawned  when  the  power  of  Papal 
Rome  will  be  assailed  and  many  shall  be  released 
from  their  spiritual  bondage  to  her.  Martin  Luther 
and  the  contemporary  reformers  found  Christianity 
in  the  condition  described  by  the  letter.  "Thou 
hast  a  name  that  thou  livest,  and  thou  art  dead." 
The  voice  of  Luther  and  others  was  heard  by 
multipHed  thousands,  and  the  letter  enjoins  them: 
"Remember  therefore  how  thou  hast  received  and 
didst  hear;  and  keep  it  and  repent."  This  period 
includes  the  great  movements  of  Calvin  and  Wesley. 
The  purpose  of  these  men  of  God  was  to  reform 
the  then  existing  religious  institutions.  The  approx- 
imate time  limits  of  this  period  of  religious  history 
are  1520  A.  D.  to  1793  A.  D. 

Late  in  the  eighteenth  century 
Philade  p  la:  ^  ^^^  religious  movement  began 

Rev.  3:  7-13  ^^  crystallize  and  take  form.     Its 

underlying  causes  may  be  traced  back  to  the  Renais- 
sance. A  great  wave  of  infidelity  had  swept  over 
the  world;  the  Protestant  church  was  divided  into 
warring  sects.     Christianity  was  almost  at  a  stand- 

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THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

still.  Good  men  in  many  of  the  sects  saw  that 
something  was  vitally  wrong,  and,  independently 
of  each  other,  began  to  seek  for  the  remedy.  As 
they  opened  their  New  Testaments  they  found  that 
division  in  the  family  of  God  was  contrary  to  the 
will  of  Christ.  They  found  that  the  evangelization 
of  the  world  depended  upon  the  unity  of  Christen- 
dom, for  Christ  prayed  that  "they  all  may  be  one 
that  the  world  may  believe."  They  found  that  the 
primitive  church,  built  by  Christ  and  his  apostles, 
was  a  united  church  and  a  church  of  power.  All 
of  these  investigators  came  to  the  same  conclusion, 
that  the  remedy  for  the  evil  conditions  of  the  time 
was  to  restore  the  church  of  Christ  in  doctrine  and 
practice.  So,  discarding  all  human  traditions  and 
creeds  and  taking  the  New  Testament  alone  as  the 
all-sufficient  rule  of  faith  and  practice,  they  began 
to  preach  the  gospel  as  it  was  first  promulgated. 
On  Christmas  Day,  1793,  at  Manakin  Town,  North 
Carolina,  James  O'Kelly,  of  the  Methodist  Church, 
instituted  a  congregation  patterned  after  the  New 
Testament  church.  The  members  were  called  Chris- 
tians as  they  were  at  Antioch.  It  was  not  long 
until  congregations  in  different  parts  of  the  country 
were  instituted.  During  the  years  1800-1803,  Dr. 
Abner  Jones,  of  the  Baptist  Church,  tiring  of  the 
evil  conditions  of  the  time,  established  congregations 
of  Christians  at  Lyndon,  Vermont,  and  Bradford 
and  Pierpoint,  New  Hampshire.  Barton  W.  Stone, 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  led  a  great  movement 
of  the  same  nature  in  Kentucky,  and  his  followers 
were    likewise    called    Christians.      These    were    all 

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LETTERS   TO  THE  SEVEN   CHURCHES 

crystallized  into  one  great  movement  to  restore  the 
primitive  faith  and  practice  of  the  New  Testament 
church  under  the  leadership  of  Thomas  and  Alex- 
ander Campbell.  Their  epoch-making  religious  docu- 
ment, known  as  "The  Declaration  and  Address,"  was 
issued  in  1809.  The  preachers  of  this  movement 
exalt  the  Bible  and  insist  upon  the  authority  of 
the  New  Testament.  They  refuse  to  wear  any 
name  except  the  name  of  Christ.  This  letter  to 
the  church  in  Philadelphia  describes  the  movement 
in  these  words:  "Thou  didst  keep  my  word,  and 
didst  not  deny  my  name"  (Rev.  3:8).  Many  differ- 
ent kinds  of  religious  bodies  exist,  each  professing 
to  be  "Jews";  that  is,  the  chosen  people  of  God. 
The  warning  of  this  letter  is  that  they  are  not,  but 
rather  belong  to  the  "synagogue  of  Satan."  To  all 
of  those  who  conscientiously  strive  to  conform  to 
the  teaching  of  the  New  Testament  this  precious 
promise  is  given:  "Because  thou  didst  keep  the 
word  of  my  patience,  I  will  keep  thee  from  the 
hour  of  trial,  that  hour  which  is  to  come  upon  the 
whole  world,  to  try  the  faith  of  them  who  dwell 
upon  the  earth"  (Rev.  3:10).  How  firmly  the 
hosts  of  the  Restoration  movement  should  cling  to 
the  old  paths.  The  time  will  not  be  long  when  the 
promise  given  will  be  realized,  for  the  announce- 
ment is  made:  "Behold,  I  come  quickly:  hold  fast 
that  which  thou  hast,  that  no  man  take  thy  crown" 
(Rev.  3:  11).  The  end  of  this  period,  then,  will  not 
be  until  the  second  coming  of  Christ,  because  the 
faithful  are  to  be  kept  through  "the  hour  of  trial" 
immediately  preceding  that  event   (v.  10). 

75 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

This    letter    needs    very    little 
°  ^^^^'  comment.    Any  close  observer  of 

ev.  3: 14-22  religious  conditions  in  general  at 

the  present  time  will  not  fail  to  understand  that 
the  letter  to  the  church  in  Laodicea  applies  to  the 
state  of  Christianity  of  our  own  time.  Men  are 
puffed  up.  Culture  is  the  goddess  at  whose  feet 
thousands  of  congregations  worship.  Professed 
followers  of  Christ  are  neither  "cold  nor  hot."  The 
"power  of  God"  is  no  longer  relied  upon,  but  the 
questionable  methods  of  union  evangelists  are  re- 
sorted to  for  the  spasmodic  awakening  of  people. 
While  the  barriers  between  denominations  are  being 
broken  down,  they  are  not  being  builded  together  on 
the  New  Testament  foundation.  The  important  thing 
to  notice  in  the  description  is  that  Jesus  is  at  the 
door.  "Behold,  I  stand  at  the  door  and  knock" 
(Rev.  3:20).  The  branches  of  the  fig-tree  are 
even  now  putting  forth  its  leaves,  so  we  know  that 
Christ  "is  nigh,  even  at  the  doors"  (Matt.  24:33). 
The  conditions  of  the  present  time  will  end  with  the 
coming  of  our  Lord  to  judge  the  house  of  God. 


76 


Part    II 


77 


CHAPTER  IV. 

A  VISION  OF  HEAVEN  THROUGH  AN 
OPEN  DOOR 

AS  the  last  word  is  spoken  to  the  church  at 
Laodicea,  the  seven  golden  candlesticks,  with 
the  glorious  One  walking  in  the  midst  of  them, 
begin  to  dissolve.  Patmos  again  becomes  the  lonely 
place  of  exile.  No  sound  disturbs  the  soHtude  of 
the  barren  isle  save  the  moaning  of  the  sea  or  the 
roar  of  the  waves  as  they  beat  upon  its  rocky  shore. 
But  it  was  not  for  long  that  the  aged  prophet 
would  be  left  alone  in  his  meditation  upon  the 
vision  he  had  already  been  privileged  to  behold. 
Another  and  a  more  entrancing  vision  would  burst 
upon  his  eyes  "after  this."  A  fuller  and  clearer 
revelation  would  be  granted  him. 

The  events  revealed  in  the  second  part  of  Revela- 
tion will  be  different  in  their  character  from  those 
unfolded  in  the  first  part,  because  the  scene  has 
changed.  The  setting  of  the  vision  is  no  longer 
the  solitude  of  his  island  prison,  but  the  gates  of 
heaven  have  swung  ajar  and  John's  enraptured  eyes 
are  privileged  to  gaze  upon  scenes  of  heavenly 
splendor  and  glory.  He  saw  the  very  throne  of 
God  emblazoned  with  splendor  divine.  He  saw  that 
great  host  of  heavenly  beings,  and  heard  the  angelic 

79 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

choir  hymning  its  paeans  of  praise  to  Him  "who 
is,  and  who  is  to  come." 

The  throne  is  the  seat  of  the  king — the  place 
where  authority  is  exercised  and  where  laws  are 
promulgated.  From  the  throne  emanates  the  edicts 
that  concern  the  states  or  provinces  over  which 
the  king  has  power.  The  King  who  sits  upon  this 
throne  which  John  saw  is  the  ruler  over  the  king- 
doms of  this  world,  for  he  is  King  of  kings.  This 
vision,  therefore,  will  have  to  do  with  the  various 
kingdoms  of  the  world.  It  will  have  to  do  with 
governments  and  laws.  It  will  have  to  do  with  the 
marching  of  armies  and  the  mighty  struggles  be- 
tween the  nations  of  men  under  his  providential 
control  until  all  of  these  kingdoms  have  been 
brought  into  subjection  to  Christ  in  the  everlasting 
kingdom.  As  symbol  after  symbol  is  given,  we 
know  they  all  have  to  do  with  the  rise  and  fall  of 
kingdoms  and  empires,  and  especially  with  the  divine 
judgments  which  are  providentially  administered  by 
various  human  agencies  controlled  by  Him  who  sits 
upon  the  throne,  until  the  race  respects  his  righteous 
laws  and  yields  to  his  will. 

The  subject-matter  of  this  part  of  Revelation 
will  consist  of  the  prediction  of  epoch-making  events 
connected  with  the  nations  and  governments  of  men 
until  "the  kingdom  of  the  world  is  become  the  king- 
dom of  our  Lord,  and  of  his  Christ"  (Rev.  11: 15). 
All  of  the  panorama  of  human  history  from  96 
A.  D.  to  the  second  coming  of  Christ  sweeps  before 
the  eyes  of  the  enraptured  seer,  for  these  are  "things 
which  must  come  to  pass  hereafter"    (Rev.  4:1). 

80 


HEAVEN  THROUGH  AN  OPEN  DOOR 

These  events  are  "sign-i-fied,"  or  recorded  in  sym- 
bolic language.  They  are  matters  of  history,  and 
therefore  capable  of  historical  verification.  If  the 
pages  of  history  record  the  fulfillment  of  the  events 
as  predicted  by  John,  then  there  can  be  no  question 
about  the  Bible  being  God's  book.  Part  II.  begins 
at  Rev.  4:1  and  ends  with  Rev.  11:18.  Chapters 
4  and  5  contain  a  description  of  the  things  which 
John  saw  in  his  vision,  and  are  introductory  to  the 
message  revealed  beginning  with  Rev.  6:1. 

In   point  of   time   this   vision 
The  Vision  follows  that  of  the  golden  candle- 

sticks. "After  these  things  I  saw,  and  behold,  a 
door  opened  in  heaven"  (Rev.  4:1).  This  vision 
is  introduced  with  a  "voice  as  of  a  trumpet,"  exactly 
as  was  the  first  vision.  It  was  the  same  voice.  It 
was  the  same  angel  of  Christ.  No  change  had 
been  made  in  the  means  of  divine  communication. 
In  the  visions  of  Daniel  in  the  Old  Testament  it  was 
the  same  angel  that  came  to  him  each  time  to  "give 
him  understanding."  The  place  of  this  vision  is 
diflFerent  from  that  of  the  first.  The  lowlands  of 
earth  are  not  calculated  to  permit  us  to  see  afar 
off  or  to  see  clearly.  Our  horizon  is  narrowed  by 
human  limitations.  John  now  is  invited  to  "come 
up  hither,"  where  from  the  highlands  of  Zion  he 
might  behold  that  mighty  panorama  of  future 
events  from  the  divine  viewpoint  and  with  eternity 
only  as  his  horizon.  With  unobstructed  view  the 
vista  of  the  future  spreads  out  before  him,  and  the 
aneel  points  to  the  significant  struggles  that  take 
place.     "I  will   show   thee   the   things   which   must 

6  81 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

come  to  pass  hereafter."  No  sooner  had  the  invi- 
tation been  given  than  the  enabling  power  was 
granted,  and  "straightway  John  was  in  the  Spirit." 
Heaven  was  visualized.  John  gives  a  careful 
description  of  the  scene  in  these  words: 

"There  was  a  throne  set  in  heaven,  and  one  sitting 
upon  the  throne;  and  he  that  sat  was  to  look  upon  like  a 
jasper  stone  and  a  sardius:  and  there  was  a  rainbow 
round  about  the  throne,  like  an  emerald  to  look  upon" 
(Rev.  4:2,  3). 

The  throne  was  the  first  and  most  prominent 
object  in  the  vision,  because  it  indicates  the  divinely 
regal  character  of  him  that  occupied  it.  The 
heavenly  throne  is  the  seat  of  heaven's  King.  The 
description  that  follows  is  of  the  occupant  of  the 
throne.  Human  language  is  too  weak  to  convey 
an  idea  of  the  brightness  of  the  transcendent  glory 
that  enwrapped  the  one  that  John  gazed  upon.  The 
gorgeous  hues  of  the  rainbow,  and  of  varicolored 
jewels  with  their  brilliant  and  sparkling  sheen,  can 
only  indicate  in  a  measure  the  dazzling  brightness 
of  the  glory  of  Him  who  sat  upon  the  throne.  At 
the  time  that  Ezekiel  received  his  prophetic  commis- 
sion he  was  privileged  to  behold  a  similar  vision. 

"And  above  the  firmament  that  was  over  their  heads  was 
the  likeness  of  a  throne,  as  the  appearance  of  a  sapphire 
stone;  and  upon  the  likeness  of  the  throne  was  a  likeness 
as  the  appearance  of  a  man  upon  it  above.  And  I  saw  as  it 
were  glowing  metal,  as  the  appearance  of  fire  within  it  round 
about,  from  the  appearance  of  his  loins  and  upward;  and 
from  the  appearance  of  his  loins  and  downward  I  saw  as  it 
were  the  appearance  of  fire,  and  there  was  brightness  round 
about  him.    As  the  appearance  of  the  bow  that  is  in  the  cloud 


HEAVEN  THROUGH  AN  OPEN  DOOR 

in  the  day  of  rain,  so  was  the  appearance  of  the  brightness 
round  about.  This  was  the  appearance  of  the  likeness  of 
the  glory  of  Jehovah"  (Ezek,  1:26-28). 

Ezekiel  here  indicates  that  he  is  striving  to  find 
language  to  convey  some  idea  of  the  beauty  of  the 
vision  which  he  beheld.  He  also  plainly  indicates 
that  the  objects  in  the  vision  were  not  literal,  but 
were  symbols.  The  throne  was  a  likeness,  and  the 
one  who  sat  upon  the  throne  was  a  likeness.  Daniel 
was  privileged  to  have  a  similar  vision,  which  he 
describes  in  these  words: 

'T  beheld  till  thrones  were  placed,  and  one  that  was 
ancient  of  days  did  sit:  his  raiment  was  white  as  snow,  and 
the  hair  of  his  head  like  pure  wool;  his  throne  was  fiery 
flames,  and  the  wheels  thereof  burning  fire"  (Dan.  7:  9). 

Here  the  color  and  brightness  of  fire,  as  well 
as  the  whiteness  of  snow,  represents  the  appearance 
of  the  glory  of  the  Ancient  of  days.  The  apostle 
now  passes  on  to  a  description  of  other  heavenly 
objects  that  present  themselves  to  his  view. 

"And  round  about  the  throne  were  four  and  twenty 
thrones :  and  upon  the  thrones  I  saw  four  and  twenty  elders 
sitting,  arrayed  in  white  garments ;  and  on  their  heads  crowns 
of  gold.  And  out  of  the  throne  proceed  lightnings  and  voices 
and  thunders.  And  there  were  seven  lamps  of  fire  burning 
before  the  throne,  which  are  the  seven  Spirits  of  God ;  and 
before  the  throne,  as  it  were  a  sea  of  glass  like  unto  crystal ; 
and  in  the  midst  of  the  throne,  and  round  about  the  throne, 
four  living  creatures  full  of  eyes  before  and  behind.  And 
the  first  creature  was  like  a  lion,  and  the  second  creature  was 
like  a  calf,  and  the  third  creature  had  a  face  as  of  a  man, 
and  the  fourth  creature  was  like  a  flying  eagle.  And  the  four 
living  creatures,  having  each  one  of  them  six  wings,  are  full 

83 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

of  eyes  round  about  and  within:  and  they  have  no  rest  day 

and  night,  saying, 

"Holy,  holy,  holy,  is  the  Lord  God,  the  Almighty,  who 
was  and  who  is  and  who  is  to  come"   (Rev.  4:4-8). 

Next  succeeding  the  glorious 

The  Elders  r  n   a  ^u        •    *u 

vision  of  God  there  is  the  appear- 
ance of  the  heavenly  attendants.  Encircling  the 
throne  of  the  Almighty  are  four  and  twenty  thrones, 
and  the  beings  who  sit  upon  them  are  described 
as  elders.  The  fact  that  they  sit  upon  heavenly 
thrones  indicates  that  they  are  invested  with  divine 
authority  and  power.  The  fact  that  they  wear 
crowns  indicates  that  they  are  exercising  kingly 
functions  in  the  divine  government.  What  the 
scope  of  their  authority  is,  is  not  given.  We  find 
that  when  the  living  creatures  worship  God,  the 
elders  fall  down  before  the  throne,  casting  their 
crowns  before  him,  and  join  in  their  ascription  of 
praise  (Rev.  4:9-11).  In  Rev.  5:8,  9,  when  the 
living  creatures  and  the  elders  join  in  their  worship 
and  adoration  of  the  Lamb,  each  has  a  harp  and 
"golden  bowls  of  incense,  which  are  the  prayers  of 
the  saints."  They  are  connected  in  some  way  with 
bringing  the  petitions  of  the  saints  in  the  presence 
of  God.  In  Rev.  5:11  they  join  with  all  of  the 
angelic  beings  in  a  mighty  paean  of  praise,  at  the 
conclusion  of  which  the  living  creatures  say  "Amen," 
and  the  elders  fall  down  and  worship  (Rev.  5:  14). 
In  Rev.  7:9-12  we  find  the  elders  again  worshiping, 
following  the  triumphant  song  of  the  multitude  of 
the  redeemed.  In  Rev.  7:13-17  we  find  one  of 
these   elders   giving  John   some   information   as   to 

84 


HEAVEN  THROUGH  AN  OPEN  DOOR 

who  this  multitude  was,  the  reason  for  their  being 
there,  their  duties  and  the  blessings  which  they 
will  enjoy.  Again,  when  the  seventh  trumpet 
sounds  we  find  the  elders  again  worshiping  God. 
From  these  Scriptures  we  understand  that  these  are 
divine  beings  in  the  most  intimate  association  with 
the  Almighty  in  his  counsels  and  his  government. 
Their  functions  are  connected  with  the  worship 
and  adoration  of  God  and  of  Christ,  and  with-  the 
prayers  of  the  saints.  This  immediately  suggests 
the  services  in  the  Jewish  temple,  which  was  designed 
to  be  "a  pattern  of  heavenly  things."  The  priest- 
hood was  divided  into  twenty-four  courses,  and  each 
served  in  the  temple  of  God  in  order.  At  the  head 
of  each  course  was  one  who  bore  the  title  of  chief 
priest.  In  1  Chron.  24 :  5  they  are  called  "princes 
of  the  sanctuary,  and  princes  of  God."  These  are 
typical  of  those  heavenly  beings  whom  John  saw. 
Hence  the  elders  of  the  vision  are  twenty- four 
princes  of  God  who  are  over  spiritual  Israel.  In 
Rev.  21 :  10-14  we  have  a  description  of  redeemed 
spiritual  Israel  under  the  figure  the  "holy  city 
Jerusalem."  There  are  twelve  gates  and  twelve 
foundations.  Upon  the  gates  were  written  "the 
names  of  the  twelve  tribes,"  and  upon  the  founda- 
tions were  written  "the  names  of  the  twelve  apostles 
of  the  Lamb."  Thus  we  have  again  the  twenty- 
four-fold  division  in  spiritual  Israel,  twelve  divisions 
being  represented  by  the  leaders  of  the  twelve  tribes 
of  the  Jewish  dispensation  and  twelve  divisions 
represented  by  the  twelve  apostles  of  the  Christian 
dispensation.      Thus    each    dispensation    has    equal 

85 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

representation  in  the  divine  government.  Further 
than  this  the  Scripture  does  not  reveal  the  functions 
of  the  elders,  and  we  wait  until  we  stand  in  their 
presence  for  a  fuller  understanding  of  these  princes 
of  God. 

Again  our  attention  is  called  to  the  central 
throne.  There  proceed  out  of  it  "lightnings  and 
voices  and  thunders."  These  violent  visible  and 
auricular  demonstrations  manifest  the  majesty  of 
the  presence  of  God  and  the  omnipotence  of  his 
power.  "But  the  thunder  of  his  power  who  can 
understand?"  (Job  26:  14).  Thunder  proceeds  from 
and  is  a  resultant  of  his  power.  These  demonstra- 
tions accompanied  the  presence  of  Jehovah  upon 
Mt.  Sinai  in  connection  with  the  giving  of  the  law. 
They  struck  terror  to  the  people,  but  Moses  re- 
minded them  that  they  need  not  fear  (Ex.  20:  18- 
20).  David  uses  thunder  as  a  figure  of  the  voice 
of  God  (Ps.  29:3).  When  the  prayer  of  Jesus  in 
the  temple  was  answered,  the  people  said  that  "it 
thundered."  John  the  Baptist  is  called  "the  voice 
of  one  crying  in  the  wilderness,"  announcing  the 
coming  of  Christ.  Lightning  dispels  the  darkness 
momentarily  with  its  unusual  brilliancy,  and  is 
also  an  instrument  of  destruction.  These  terms, 
therefore,  very  fittingly  symbolize  the  majesty  and 
power  of  God,  and  also  indicate  a  revelation  of  his 
will  or  an  execution  of  his  judgment  upon  his 
enemies.  These  demonstrations  occur  three  more 
times  in  the  Book  of  Revelation.  Once  before  the 
trumpet  angels  begin  to  sound  (Rev.  8:5),  once 
when  John  saw  the  vision  of  the  temple  opened  in 

86 


HEAVEN  THROUGH  AN  OPEN  DOOR 


heaven  (Rev.  11:19),  and  again  following  the 
pouring  out  of  the  seventh  bowl  of  wrath  (Rev. 
16:18). 

Standing  just  before  the  central  throne  are  seen 
seven  lamps  of  fire  burning,  and  these  are  said  to 
represent  the  seven  Spirits  of  God.  These  are 
mentioned  next  in  order  because  it  is  through  the 
agency  and  operation  of  the  Holy  Spirit  that  the 
revelation  indicated  by  the  lightnings  and  voices 
and  thunders  is  to  be  made.  Further  than  this  we 
would  not  attempt  to  lift  the  veil  of  mystery  that 
enwraps  Divinity.  Also  before  the  throne  is,  as 
it  were,  "a  sea  of  glass  like  unto  crystal."  Rev. 
17:15  gives  the  meaning  of  "sea"  as  a  symbol. 
"The  waters  which  thou  sawest,  where  the  harlot 
sitteth,  are  peoples,  and  multitudes,  and  nations,  and 
tongues."  The  sea,  which  is  a  large  body  of  water, 
represents  all  of  humanity.  Crystal  denotes  trans- 
parency. All  things  are  open  and  transparent  before 
the  eyes  of  Him  with  whom  we  have  to  do,  even 
the  secret  thoughts  and  intents  of  the  heart.  All 
of  the  struggles  and  vicissitudes  that  shall  be 
experienced  by  humanity  until  eternity  shall  dawn 
are  clearly  seen  by  Him  who  sits  upon  the  throne. 
Its  great  underlying  movements  are  apparent  to 
Him,  for  he  looks  into  the  depths  of  humanity  as 
one  would  look  into  a  crystal  sea. 

Next    in    order   there    appear 

The  Living  ^^^^  j.^j^^  creatures.     They  are 

Creatures  described  as  being  "in  the  midst 

of  the  throne  and  round  about  the  throne."     This 

would  indicate  that  they  sustained  the  closest  rela- 

87 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

tionship  with  the  functions  of  divine  government 
as  represented  by  the  throne.  They  are  all-seeing, 
and  their  wings  indicate  that  they  are  creatures  of 
motion.  This  also  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  they 
"have  no  rest  day  and  night"  in  ascribing  praise  to 
the  Almighty.  They  are  always  associated  with  the 
elders  in  their  service.  When  Ezekiel  received  his 
call  to  the  prophetic  office,  he  saw  the  same  living 
creatures  (Ezek.  1:5-25).  In  the  tenth  chapter  of 
Ezekiel  these  same  living  creatures  are  described, 
and  are  denominated  "cherubim."  "This  is  the 
living  creature  that  I  saw  under  the  God  of  Israel 
by  the  river  Chebar;  and  I  knew  that  they  were 
cherubim"  (Ezek.  10:20).  This  prophet  clearly 
indicates  that  the  cherubim  are  closely  associated 
with  God  when  he  speaks.  "And  the  sound  of  the 
wings  of  the  cherubim  was  heard,  ...  as  the  voice 
of  God  Almighty  when  he  speaketh"  (Ezek.  10:5). 
Isaiah,  also,  was  privileged  to  see  these  same  living 
creatures  at  the  time  he  received  his  prophetic  com- 
mission. The  glorious  scene  is  described  in  the 
sixth  chapter  of  his  prophecy.  He  calls  them 
seraphim.  One  of  these  seraphim  performs  the 
function  of  a  messenger  of  God  to  reveal  the  com- 
mission to  the  prophet,  and  by  means  of  the  coal 
of  fire  to  cleanse  him  and  fit  him  for  his  work. 
Thus  the  Scriptures  clearly  indicate  that  the  living 
creatures  of  John's  vision  are  heavenly  beings  who 
serve  as  swift-flying  messengers  to  men  with  the 
revelation  of  God's  will,  and  that  the  sound  of  their 
wings  is  "as  the  voice  of  God  Almighty."  Very 
fittingly  do  they  appear  to  John  as  the  grand  pano- 


HEAVEN  THROUGH  AN  OPEN  DOOR 

rama  of  the  future  is  about  to  be  unfolded.  Cheru- 
bim were  stationed  at  the  gates  of  Eden  as  warders. 
Figures  of  cherubim  were  placed  over  the  mercy- 
seat  in  the  tabernacle,  and  between  these  was  the 
presence  or  the  glory  of  God. 

When   Jesus   was   upon   earth 
Vision  of  the  sj^ty-six    years    before    the    date 

°°  of  this  vision,  he  said  to  his  dis- 

ciples: "But  of  that  day  and  hour  knoweth  no  one, 
not  even  the  angels  of  heaven,  neither  the  Son,  but 
the  Father  only"  (Matt.  24:36).  On  the  day. of 
his  ascension  he  uttered  in  substance  the  same  thing, 
saying:  "It  is  not  for  you  to  know  times  or  seasons, 
which  the  Father  hath  set  within  his  own  authority" 
(Acts  1:7).  Many  unthinking  people  quote  these 
statements  of  the  Master  as  if  they  were  to  be  eter- 
nally true.  To  interpret  them  in  this  way  would  be 
to  limit  the  Father  so  that  he  could  not  make  known 
the  times  or  the  seasons  at  such  times  as  he  saw  fit, 
a  thing  which  Jesus  never  did.  What  Jesus  meant 
was  that  the  day  and  the  hour  had  not  been  revealed 
either  to  him  or  the  angels  in  heaven  at  the  time  that 
he  spoke.  He  did  not  say  that  God  would  never  re- 
veal these  things,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  he  plainly 
says  that  this  knowledge  is  "within  his  own  authority." 
After  more  than  threescore  years  pass  by,  the  aged 
exile  of  Patmos  sees  the  great  sealed  book  of  the 
future  in  the  right  hand  of  Jehovah  as  he  sits  upon 
his  awful  throne  and  surrounded  by  an  innumerable 
host  of  heavenly  beings.  This  book  was  written, 
as  were  the  books  of  John's  day,  in  the  form  of  a 
roll.  It  had  seven  seals.  In  other  words,  its  con- 
so 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

tents  were  completely  sealed  or  hidden  from  the 
knowledge  of  every  being  in  the  universe  save  him 
who  held  it  in  his  right  hand.  This  is  exactly  what 
Jesus  said  sixty-six  years  before:  "No  one,  not  even 
the  angels  of  heaven,  neither  the  Son,  but  the  Father 
only."  This  roll  was  composed  of  seven  leaves  fol- 
lowing each  other  successively,  and  each  securely 
sealed.  This  is  shown  by  the  manner  in  which  the 
seals  are  opened. 
^  A  momentous  moment  has  now  come  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  universe.  That  mysterious  realm  of  the 
future  is  about  to  be  unlocked,  and  the  far-reaching 
vista  of  the  years  is  to  be  unveiled  that  God's  children 
might  know  the  times  and  the  seasons  as  if  they 
were  already  matters  of  history.  Soon  the  last  of 
the  apostles  would  join  the  blood-washed  throng  of 
the  redeemed  in  the  spirit  world,  and  the  church 
would  no  longer  have  the  means  by  which  it  might 
receive  divine  revelations  as  it  needed  them.  All  the 
knowledge  that  God's  children  will  need  to  comfort 
them  and  strengthen  them  in  all  the  varying  for- 
tunes and  vicissitudes  of  the  centuries  as  they  come 
and  go,  and,  especially,  in  that  hour  of  great  tribu- 
lation that  should  come  upon  all  the  earth,  must  now 
be  committed  unto  the  last  of  the  men  who  were 
qualified  to  bear  his  message  to  men.  All  of  the  ^ 
prophets  who  had  gone  before  received  as  it  were 
sealed  books  which  they  themselves  could  only  dimly 
comprehend,  and  they  searched  "what  time  or  what 
manner  of  time  the  Spirit  of  Christ  which  was  in 
them  did  point  unto,  when  it  testified  beforehand  the 
sufferings  of  Christ  and  the  glories  that  should  fol- 

90 


HEAVEN  THROUGH  AN  OPEN  DOOR 

low  them"  (1  Pet.  1:11).  They  searched  for  the 
time  of  the  glories  that  should  follow  as  well  as 
the  sufferings  of  Christ,  but  they  were  not  able  to 
understand.  God  told  the  Jews,  through  Isaiah: 
"And  all  vision  is  become  unto  you  as  the  words  of 
a  book  that  is  sealed"  (Isa.  29:11).  After  Daniel 
had  sought  vainly  for  an  understanding  of  the  mys- 
teries committed  unto  him,  he  was  commanded :  "Go 
thy  way,  Daniel;  for  the  words  are  shut  up  and 
sealed  till  the  time  of  the  end"  (Dan.  12:9).  The 
angels  of  heaven  had  also  desired  to  look  into  the 
mysteries  of  God's  treasure-house  of  infinite  knowl- 
edge and  love,  but  had  been  forbidden.  The  crucial 
moment  has  now  arrived.  The  heavenly  host  are 
gathered  expectantly  around  the  throne.  The  last 
of  the  prophets  is  in  the  Spirit  as  an  eager  spec- 
tator to  be  shown  "things  which  must  come  to  pass 
hereafter."  He  was  an  especially  invited  guest  on 
this  portentous  occasion. 

A  strong  angel,  in  a  voice  that  reached  to  the 
ends  of  the  celestial  universe,  called  for  one  who 
was  worthy  to  open  the  seals  of  the  book,  but  none 
was  found  to  be  worthy.  The  aged  apostle,  over- 
whelmed with  the  thought  of  the  infinite  loss  to  the 
church  if  the  contents  of  the  sealed  book  were  not 
revealed,  and  with  the  great  deeps  of  his  loving 
heart  stirred,  gave  vent  to  a  flood  of  tears.  One  of 
the  heavenly  beings  informed  him,  however,  that 
there  was  one  being  who  had  not  as  yet  materialized 
in  the  splendor  of  the  heavenly  scene,  and  who 
"hath  overcome  to  open  the  book" — "the  Lion  that 
is  of  the  tribe  of  Judah,  the  Root  of  David."    Just 

91 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

one  (and  only  one)  being  in  all  these  circling 
spheres,  or  in  all  the  far-off  worlds  unknown,  was 
found  who  was  worthy  to  open  that  book  and  chart 
the  unmade  paths  whereon  the  nations  should  walk 
till  the  streams  of  time  are  merged  with  the  ocean 
of  eternity — "the  blessed,  blessed  Jesus,  he's  the 
one."  We  do  not  realize  how  much  we  owe  to  him. 
His  name  is  the  only  name  that  can  save,  and  "in 
none  other  is  there  salvation."  He  is  the  only  door 
to  the  sheep  fold,  for  he  that  "climbeth  up  some 
other  way,  the  same  is  a  thief  and  a  robber."  He 
is  the  only  one  who  was  able  to  open  the  sealed 
book.  The  world  would  be  impoverished  of  its 
richest  treasure  of  divine  truth,  and  the  race  would 
be  plunged  into  the  impenetrable  mazes  of  uncer- 
tainty and  despair,  with  no  certain  knowledge  as  to 
the  meaning  of  these  mighty  upheavals  that  from 
time  to  time  shake  the  very  foundations  of  empires 
and  governments  of  men. 

"Majestic  sweetness  sits  enthroned 
Upon  the  Saviour's  brow; 
His  head  with  radiant  glories  crowned. 
His  lips  with  grace  o'erflow. 

'*No  mortal  can  with  him  compare 
Among  the  sons  of  men; 
Fairest  is  he  of  all  the  fair 
Who  fill  the  heavenly  train." 

As  those  comforting  words  of  the  heavenly  elder 
fell  upon  the  ears  of  the  grief -stricken  servant  of 
Christ,  his  eyes  fell  upon  One  whose  form  he  had 
not  previously  realized.  Where  he  had  beheld  the 
seven  lamps  of  fire  burning  there  begins  to  resolve 

92 


HEAVEN  THROUGH  AN  OPEN  DOOR 

itself  the  figure  of  a  Lamb  with  seven  horns,  sym- 
bolizing his  complete  kingly  authority  and  divine 
power.  The  lamps  of  fire  are  now  seen  to  be  his 
eyes,  and  symbolize  his  power  to  see  all  things  and 
to  enlighten  the  world  as  to  all  of  those  events  even 
then  in  the  future.  The  Lamb  now  becomes  the  ^/' 
central  figure  of  the  heavenly  vision,  standing  "in 
the  midst  of  the  throne  and  of  the  four  living  crea- 
tures, and  in  the  midst  of  the  elders."  The  Lamb 
stood  "as  it  had  been  slain."  Every  mark  of  that 
awful  scene  of  Calvary  was  on  his  body  as  if  it  had 
just  been  made.  The  nail-prints  were  there,  the 
jagged  spear- wound  in  his  side  with  the  blood  and 
water  gushing  forth,  and  his  face  was  torn  and 
bleeding  as  if  the  crown  of  thorns  was  being  pressed 
by  brutal  hands  upon  his  brow.  His  back  was 
bruised  as  if  the  cruel  scourging  had  just  been  in- 
flicted, and  from  those  fearful  stripes  there  came 
the  crimson  flow.  Weak  and  trembling  he  stood  as 
if  bearing  the  weight  of  the  great  cross-tree. 

Silently  he  moves  "as  a  lamb  led  to  the  slaughter, 
and  as  a  sheep  before  its  shearers  is  dumb,  so  he 
opened  not  his  mouth."  There,  in  the  midst  of  the 
ineffable  glory  of  the  great  white  throne,  John  had 
all  of  that  dark  tragedy  of  Calvary  made  fresh  again 
as  if  it  were  being  re-enacted  in  his  presence,  and 
he  was  inspired  to  pen  the  sublimest  meaning 
of  that  event  that  has  ever  been  unfolded  to 
the  intelligence  of  men.  Oh  that  men  could 
comprehend  the  full  meaning  of  Calvary  and 
what  unspeakably  precious  things  the  Son  of  God 
accomplished    for    Adam's    race    by    off^.ring    him- 

93 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

self  as  the  Lamb  of  God!  It  is  true  that  in  it  he 
fulfilled  the  prophecies  gone  before  and  made  God's 
word  true.  He  redeemed  us  from  the  curse  of  the 
law,  "being  made  a  curse  for  us."  By  his  death  he 
was  enabled  to  offer  eternal  life,  which  the  law  was 
unable  to  do.  His  blood  was  effective  for  cleansing 
from  sin,  which  the  blood  of  bulls  and  of  goats  was 
powerless  to  accomplish.  By  his  death  he  pur- 
chased "unto  God  men  of  every  tribe,  and  tongue, 
and  people,  and  nation,  and  madest  them  to  be  unto 
our  God  a  kingdom  and  priests;  and  they  reign 
upon  the  earth"  (Rev.  5:9,  10). 

But  the  sublimest  import  of  the  slaying  of  the 
Lamb  remains  yet  to  be  revealed  in  that  divine  paean 
of  praise  that  fell  from  the  lips  of  the  heavenly  crea- 
tures. The  reason  for  the  worthiness  of  the  Lamb 
to  take  the  sealed  book  of  the  future,  and  the  rea- 
son why  he  was  able  to  break  the  seals,  was  because 
he  was  slain  and  had  purchased  men  unto  God. 
"Worthy  art  thou  to  take  the  book,  and  to  open  the 
seals  thereof:  for  thou  wast  slain"  (Rev.  5:9). 

**0  could  I  speak  the  matchless  worth, 
O  could  I  sound  the  glories  forth, 

Which  in  my  Saviour  shine ! 
I'd  soar  and  touch  the  heav'nly  strings. 
And  vie  with  Gabriel  while  he  sings. 

In  notes  almost  divine." 

Scarcely  had  the  living  creatures  finished  this 
brief  ascription  of  praise,  when  the  limitless  expanse 
of  God's  universe  became  vocal,  and,  led  by  the  un- 
numbered angelic  host,  the  infinite  reaches  of  crea- 
tion, filled  with  its  myriads  of  worlds  and  suns  and 

04 


HEAVEN  THROUGH  AN  OPEN  DOOR 

these  all  peopled  with  the  creatures  of  the  mind  of 
God,  joined  the  sublimest  anthem  of  praise  to  the 
Lamb  that  divine  ears  will  ever  hear.  The  strains 
of  this  mighty  coronation  song  swell  until  their 
echoes  shall  fill  all  the  ceaseless  ages  of  eternity 
with  unspeakable  melody. 

"O  that,  with  yonder  sacred  throng, 

We  at  his  feet  may  fall; 
We'll  join  the  everlasting  song, 
And  crown  him  Lord  of  all." 


95 


CHAPTER  V. 
OPENING  THE  SEALED  BOOK 

REVERENTLY  do  we  approach  the  investigation 
of  the  sealed  book,  realizing  its  origin.  It  is 
God's  book.  It  was  in  his  right  hand  from  the  be- 
ginning until  One  was  found  who  was  worthy  to 
open  the  seals.  In  the  presence  of  Jehovah  and  the 
entire  multitude  of  heavenly  beings,  the  Lamb  opens 
the  seals,  and  here  we  have  the  contents  of  the  book 
spread  out  before  us.  In  a  voice  as  of  thunder  one 
of  the  four  living  creatures  invited  John  to  come 
and  see  the  procession  of  events  as  each  seal  was 
opened.  He  was  not  permitted  to  touch  the  book, 
but  to  gaze  and  to  hear  the  divine  comments  upon 
its  symbolism.  He  had  previously  been  commis- 
sioned to  write  what  he  saw  in  a  book  (Rev.  1 :  11). 
The  aged  apostle  certifies  that  he  has  given  us  a 
faithful  transcription  of  the  things  which  he  saw 
and  heard  (Rev.  22:8),  and  the  revealing  angel 
attached  his  signature  after  John  had  finished  the 
book  (Rev.  22:6). 

The  character  and  nature  of  the  subject-matter 
of  the  sealed  book  has  been  already  determined  for 
us.  It  concerns  the  "things  which  must  come  to 
pass  hereafter"  (Rev.  4:1).  The  sealed  book  is  a 
forecast  of  historical  events  that  were  to  occur  after 

96 


OPENING   THE    SEALED    BOOK 

96  A.  D.,  the  date  of  the  visions.  They  are  events 
which  "must  shortly  come  to  pass"  ( Rev.  1:1;  22 : 
6).  So,  then,  within  a  few  years  following  96  A.  D., 
the  events  predicted  under  the  first  seal  will  occur. 
The  nature  of  these  has  also  been  determined  for  us 
by  the  character  of  the  vision  that  introduced  the 
opening  of  the  sealed  book.  This  is  the  rule  of 
prophecy.  The  message  that  follows  a  vision  is  a 
clearer  unfolding  of  the  symbolism  of  the  vision.  In 
the  vision  of  the  seven  golden  candlesticks  we  found 
that  it  was  followed  by  a  message  giving  a  record 
of  the  church  universal,  in  its  light-giving  capacity, 
through  seven  different  periods.  The  prominent 
features  of  the  present  vision  are  thrones  and 
crowned  ones,  so  the  message  that  follows  will  have 
to  do  with  thrones  and  rulers  and  empires.  In  the 
vision  the  scene  changes  from  feature  to  feature 
until,  in  a  glorious  climax,  all  creation  joins  in  a 
coronation  song  to  the  Lamb,  saying:  "Unto  him 
that  sitteth  on  the  throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb,  be 
blessing,  and  honor,  and  the  glory,  and  the  dominion, 
for  ever  and  ever"  (Rev.  5:13).  The  Lamb  has 
triumphed  over  all  of  his  enemies  and  taken  his 
throne.  In  the  message,  which  the  vision  introduces, 
the  events  connected  with  the  changing  scenes  of 
earthly  kingdoms  will  follow  each  other  in  succes- 
sion until  they  reach  their  culmination  in  the  sublime 
climax  in  Rev.  11:15-18,  where  the  kingdoms  of 
the  world  have  at  least  yielded  to  the  glorious  rule 
of  Jesus  Christ.  The  first  seal  will  open  with  a 
description  of  the  conditions  in  an  earthly  kingdom 
immediately  succeeding  the  date  of  the  vision.    The 

7  97 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

varying  changes  that  take  place,  especially  as  they 
affect  the  kingdoms  of  the  world,  will  be  recounted 
until  their  crushing  defeat  is  finally  administered 
and  Christ  has  established  his  divine  kingdom. 

The   description   of   this   first 

First  Seal:  period  is  brief,  but  the  details  are 

Rev.  6:2  ^j^^^  ^^^  striking.     "And  I  saw, 

and  behold,  a  white  horse,  and  he  that  sat  thereon 
had  a  bov/;  and  there  was  given  unto  him  a  crown: 
and  he  came  forth  conquering  and  to  conquer," 
They  are  (1)  a  horse;  (2)  its  color  was  white;  (3) 
its  rider  had  a  bov/;  (4)  he  was  crowned  before 
he  went  forth  to  conquer;  (5)  he  "came  forth  con- 
quering and  to  conquer" — he  was  uniformly  vic- 
torious in  every  struggle.  Each  detail  must  have 
its  complete  fulfillment  in  the  period  of  history 
referred  to.  Under  each  one  of  the  first  four  seals 
the  symbol  of  a  horse  is  used,  so  that,  whatever 
its  meaning  may  be,  the  condition  which  it  denotes 
continues  during  the  four  periods.  But  each  seal 
is  distinguished  by  the  color  of  the  horse,  as  well 
as  by  other  details.  It  is  apparent  that  the  condition 
that  continues  during  the  four  periods  varies  in 
each  one  according  to  the  significance  of  the  color 
of  the  horse  that  marks  the  period.  With  the 
Bible  as  our  dictionary  to  determine  the  meaning  of 
these  prophetic  symbols,  there  will  be  no  difficulty 
in  translating  them  into  tenns  easily  understood 
by  all. 

The  Horse. — "The  horse  is  prepared  against 
the  day  of  battle"  (Prov.  21:31).  This  is  in 
harmony   with   the   last   detail.      The    rider   of   this 

98 


OPENING   THE    SEALED    BOOK 

white  horse  went  forth  conquering  as  he  led 
victorious  armies.  The  term  "horse"  is  suggestive 
of  armies  and  military  accomplishments  in  battles. 
The  color  of  the  horse  will  indicate  the  results  of 
the  struggles  that  take  place,  whether  they  are  suc- 
cessful or  unsuccessful,  whether  the  projects  under- 
taken by  the  military  power  result  in  accomplish- 
ment or  failure.  In  the  nineteenth  chapter  of 
Revelation  we  have  the  same  symbolism — a  white 
horse.  The  details  of  this  latter  incident  are  differ- 
ent in  many  respects  from  that  of  the  seal  which 
we  are  studying,  but  it  will  enable  us  to  understand 
the  significance  of  the  symbol  of  a  "white  horse." 
This  incident  describes  a  victorious  war  undertaken 
by  Christ  and  "the  armies  of  heaven  which  followed 
after  him  upon  white  horses."  It  is  said  of  him 
who  sat  upon  the  white  horse  that  "in  righteousness 
doth  he  judge  and  make  war."  In  the  further 
description  it  is  said  that  he  smote  them,  and  that 
he  "shall  rule  them  with  a  rod  of  iron."  The  mean- 
ing of  the  "white  horse,"  then,  is  a  period  when  the 
military  projects  of  R.ome,  which  was  the  world 
empire  at  this  time,  were  crowned  with  success, 
and  prosperous  and  happy  conditions  prevailed. 
This  is  further  confirmed  by  Gibbon  ("Decline  and 
Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,"  Vol.  V.,  p.  347). 
Referring  to  an  incident  that  occurred  at  Paris,  he 
says: 

"The  successor  of  Constantine  was  clothed  in  a  robe  of 
white  silk  and  mounted  on  a  milk-white  steed,  a  circumstance, 
in  the  French  ceremonial,  of  singular  importance:  the  white 
color  is  considered  as  the  symbol  of  sovereignty;  and  in  a 

99 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

late  visit,  the  German  emperor,  after  a  haughty  demand  and 
a  peevish  refusal,  had  been  reduced  to  content  himself  with 
a  black  courser." 

At  this  period,  then,  the  sovereignty  of  Rome  is 
in  the  ascendency  and  is  recognized  where  it  had 
been  formerly  rejected. 

The  Rider. — ^This  prosperous  period  had  its 
beginning  with  an  emperor  of  Rome.  This  is 
indicated  by  the  fact  that  after  the  rider  was 
crowned  the  conquering  began.  As  to  who  he  was, 
must  be  determined  by  the  description  given.  The 
distinguishing  mark  of  the  rider  was  "a  bov/."  A 
few  writers  have  insisted  that  this  rider  is  Christ, 
starting  out  on  the  gospel  conquest  of  the  world. 
This  confusion  is,  no  doubt,  due  to  a  thoughtless 
comparison  with  Rev.  19:11-16,  where  the  rider 
of  a  white  horse  is  plainly  indicated  as  being 
Christ.  An  examination  of  the  description  of  these 
two  riders  will  disclose  the  fact  that  they  are  not 
the  same.  The  distinguishing  mark  of  the  rider 
in  the  nineteenth  chapter  is  a  "sharp  sword."  In 
the  vision  of  the  seven  golden  candlesticks  he 
appears  with  the  same  sword  proceeding  out  of  his 
mouth.  Nowhere  is  he  represented  as  having  a 
bow.  Again,  these  events  indicated  by  the  first 
seal  "must  come  to  pass  after"  the  time  of  the  vision. 
The  beginning  of  the  gospel  conquest,  if  we  can 
speak  of  the  proclamation  of  the  gospel  as  such, 
began  on  Pentecost,  at  least  sixty-six  years  before 
these  events  could  possibly  occur.  Christ,  then,  is 
not  the  rider  here,  and  neither  is  he  a  Roman.  The 
national    weapon    of    the    Romans    was    either    a 

100 


OPENING    THE    SEALED    BOOK 

javelin  or  the  short  sword.  The  bow  was  the 
national  weapon  of  the  Cretans,  and  this  rider  will 
have  some  relation  to  the  Cretan  people. 

History  will  now  give  us  the  record  of  this 
period  that  prophecy  has  foretold.  Domitian  v/as 
slain  by  his  own  domestics,  September  18,  96  A.  D. 
He  was  the  last  of  the  emperors  of  pure  Roman 
blood.  Nerva,  of  Cretan  blood,  received  the  crown 
of  the  Caesars.  While  his  reign  was  brief,  it  is 
notable  because  of  the  results  that  flowed  from  his 
first  act  after  receiving  the  crown.    Gibbon  says : 

"Nerva  had  scarcely  accepted  the  purple  from  the  assas- 
sins of  Domitian  before  he  discovered  that  his  feeble  age 
was  unable  to  stem  the  tide  of  public  disorders,  which  had 
multiplied  under  the  long  tyranny  of  his  predecessor.  .  .  . 
He  adopted  Trajan,  then  about  forty  years  of  age,  and  who 
commanded  a  powerful  army  in  lower  Germany;  and  imme- 
diately, by  a  decree  of  the  Senate,  declared  him  colleague  and 
successor  in  the  empire." — Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman 
Empire,  Vol.  L,  p.  126. 

Thus  Nerva,  of  Cretan  blood,  was  crowned  and 
"came  forth  conquering  and  to  conquer"  in  the 
person  of  Trajan.  The  reig^  of  Trajan  really 
began  when  he  was  proclaimed  colleague  and  suc- 
cessor soon  after  Nerva  attained  the  crown.  Trajan 
became  sole  ruler  in  98  A.  D.  We  let  Gibbon,  in 
his  own  words,  describe  the  period  which  began 
at  this  time.  We  remember,  as  we  read  his  descrip- 
tion, the  author  was  not  prejudiced  in  favor  of 
Christianity,  and  what  he  says,  he  was  forced  to 
write,  to  be  in  harmony  with  the  facts  as  they 
occurred. 

101 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

"If  a  man  were  called  to  fix  the  period,  in  the  history  of 
the  world,  during  which  the  condition  of  the  human  race  was 
most  happy  and  prosperous,  he  would  without  hesitation 
name  that  which  elapsed  from  the  death  of  Domitian  to  the 
accession  of  Commodus.  The  vast  extent  of  the  Roman 
Empire  was  governed  by  absolute  power,  under  the  guidance 
of  virtue  and  wisdom.  .  .  .  The  forms  of  the  civil  ad- 
ministration were  carefully  preserved  by  Nerva,  Trajan, 
Hadrian,  and  the  Antonines,  who  delighted  in  the  image  of 
liberty  and  were  pleased  with  considering  themselves  as  the 
accountable  ministers  of  the  laws". — Vol.  I.,  p.  130. 

Again,  in  the  same  volume,  he  speaks  of  the 
conquests  of  Trajan  in  these  words: 

'■'The  praises  of  Alexander,  transmitted  by  a  succession 
of  poets  and  historians,  had  kindled  a  dangerous  emulation 
in  the  mind  of  Trajan.  Like  him,  the  Roman  emperor  under- 
took an  expedition  against  the  nations  of  the  East;  but 
lamented  with  a  sigh  that  his  advanced  age  scarcely  left  him 
any  hopes  of  equaling  the  renown  of  the  son  of  Philip.  Yet 
the  success  of.  Trajan,  however  transient,  was  rapid  and 
specious.  The  degenerate  Parthians,  broken  by  intestine  dis- 
cord, fled  before  his  arms.  He  descended  the  river  Tigris 
in  triumph,  from  the  mountains  to  the  Persian  Gulf.  He  had 
the  honor  of  being  the  first,  as  he  was  the  last,  of  the  Roman 
generals  who  ever  navigated  that  remote  sea.  His  fleets 
ravaged  the  coasts  of  Arabia,  and  Trajan  vainly  flattered  him- 
self that  he  was  approaching  towards  the  confines  of  India. 
Every  day  the  astonished  Senate  received  the  intelligence 
of  new  names  and  new  nations  that  acknowledged  his  sway." 
—Vol.  L,  pp.  48,  49. 

Here  we  have  a  period,  extending  from  the 
reign  of  Domitian  to  that  of  Commodus,  in  which 
the  world  was  most  prosperous  and  happy,  and 
when  absolute  power  was  exercised.  The  sovereignty 
of   Rome  was   in   the   ascendency.      It  began   when 

102 


OPENING    THE    SEALED    BOOK 

Neiva,  the  man  with  "the  bow,"  received  his  crown, 
and  in  the  person  of  Trajan,  whom  he  adopted, 
went  forth  "conquering  and  to  conquer."  It  was 
"shortly"  after  the  date  of  the  vision.  The  descrip- 
tion of  John  corresponds  in  every  detail  with  the 
record  of  history.  The  limits  of  the  period  of  the 
first  seal,  as  given  by  Gibbon,  extend  from  Domitian 
to  Com.modus,  or  96-180  A.  D.  There  is  nothing 
in  this  period  to  suggest  the  decay  and  downfall 
of  earthly  power  and  the  exaltation  of  Christ,  but 
the  good  seed  of  the  kingdom  was  being  scattered 
with  a  lavish  hand,  and,  all  unseen  and  unrealized 
by  men,  the  forces  that  work  for  the  fulfillment  of 
God's  promises  are  active  under  his  control. 

The  symbols  of  the  first  seal 
being  impressed   upon   his  mind, 
cv.    ,  3, 4  ^^^    second    seal    is   nov/   opened 

and  a  new  period  of  history  revealed.  "And  another 
horse  came  forth,  a  red  horse:  and  to  him  that  sat 
thereon  it  was  given  to  take  peace  from  the  earth, 
and  that  they  should  slay  one  another:  and  there 
was  given  to  him  a  great  sword."  This  red  horse 
follows  after  the  white  horse,  so  the  period  of  his- 
tory which  it  symbolizes  will  begin  about  180  A.  D., 
and  continue  until  another  period  is  ushered  in  as 
denoted  by  the  opening  of  another  seal. 

As  in  the  first  seal,  the  "horse"  suggests  things 
connected  with  armies  and  military  power  as  exer- 
cised through  armies,  but  the  "horse"  is  no  longer 
white;  it  is  red  like  blood.  There  will  be  uniform 
victory  no  longer.  The  period  of  the  expansion  of 
the  national  sovereignty  has  ended,  and  conditions 

103 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

that  are  denoted  by  the  color  of  red  prevail.  We 
use  colors  as  symbols  to-day,  and  think  of  them 
as  such  without  any  difficulty,  but  if  we  read  about 
a  red  horse  in  the  Bible,  we  immediately  attach 
mystery  to  it  and  feel  it  can  not  be  understood.  An 
employe  of  a  railroad  puts  out  a  red  board,  and  all 
trains  will  stop.  Workmen  hang  a  red  lantern  over 
a  ditch  in  the  street,  and  all  drivers  turn  some  other 
way.  No  engineer  ever  questions  as  to  what  the 
red  signal-board  may  mean.  Not  even  a  child  would 
attach  any  mysterious  meaning  to  the  red  lantern 
hanging  in  the  street.  All  mankind  attaches  the 
same  meaning  to  it.  It  is  a  symbol  of  serious 
danger.  So  naturally  does  red  speak  of  bloodshed, 
carnage  and  rebellion  against  organized  forms  of 
government,  that  a  company  of  men  carrying  red 
flags  on  the  streets  of  our  cities  would  be  recognized 
at  once  as  anarchists.  It  means  the  same  in  Revela- 
tion, and  denotes  a  period  of  civil  strife  and  rebellion 
against  the  recognized  rulers.  An  incident  recorded 
in  2  Kings  3 :  22,  23  shows  that  this  is  the  Scripture 
usage:  "And  the  Moabites  saw  the  water  over 
against  them  as  red  as  blood:  and  they  said.  This 
is  blood;  the  kings  are  surely  destroyed,  and  they 
have  smitten  each  man  his  fellow."  This  is  the 
exact  condition  that  is  symbolized  by  the  red  horse 
as  taking  place  in  the  Roman  Empire. 

This  is  confirmed  also  by  the  other  details  given. 
The  rider  of  the  red  horse  was  given  a  great  sword. 
It  was  his  mission  to  take  peace  from  the  earth 
and  men  should  slay  one  another.  No  plainer 
description  of  civil  discord  and  internal  strife  could 

104 


OPENING    THE    SEALED    BOOK 

be  given.  The  "earth"  which  John  knew  was  under 
the  sway  of  Rome  and  was  comprehended  by  the 
Roman  Empire.  It  therefore  denotes  that  great 
world  kingdom.  To  "take  peace  from  the  earth" 
would  signify  that  the  empire  would  be  filled  with 
strife  and  confusion.  The  long  period  of  internal 
peace  and  prosperity  that  characterized  the  reig^ 
of  the  Antonines  and  previous  emperors  will  now 
give  place  to  one  of  civil  strife  and  bloodshed. 
Foes  from  within  and  not  from  without  were  to 
cause  this  disaster.  They  were  to  "slay  one  an- 
other." The  identifying  symbol  of  the  rider  was  a 
"great  sword."  This  would  denote  that  the  military 
arm  of  the  government  would  be  the  seat  of  the 
disturbance,  and  particularly  that  portion  known  as 
the  Praetorian  Guards,  for  when  their  commanders 
were  installed  in  the  office  of  Praetorian  prefects, 
they  were  given  a  "sword"  as  a  symbol  of  office, 
denoting  their  jurisdiction  and  power  over  the  lives 
of  men. 

A  few  statements  taken  from  the  fifth  chapter 
of  Gibbon's  "Rise  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire," 
Vol.  I.,  will  accurately  describe  the  details  given 
under  the  second  seal,  and  show  they  were  fulfilled 
in  the  period  beginning  with  the  end  of  the  reign 
of  CommcKius,  192  A.  D.,  and  continuing  for  ninety- 
two  years : 

"The  dissolute  tyranny  of  Commodus,  the  civil  wars  oc- 
casioned by  his  death,  and  the  new  maxims  introduced  by 
the  house  of  Severus,  had  all  contributed  to  increase  the 
dangerous  power  of  the  army.'* — P.  212. 

"The  power  of  the  sword  is  more  sensibly  felt  in  an  ex- 
105 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

tensive  monarchy  than  in  a  small  community.  .  .  .  The 
Praetorian  bands,  whose  licentious  fury  was  the  first  symp- 
tom and  cause  of  the  decline  of  the  Roman  Empire,  scarcely 
amounted  to  the  last  mentioned  number"    (15,000). — P.  156. 

"These  assertions,  however  defective  in  reason,  became 
unanswerable  when  the  fierce  Praetorians  increased  their 
weight,  by  throwing,  like  the  barbarian  conqueror  of  Rome, 
their  swords  into  the  scale." — P.  158. 

"The  public  discontent  was  soon  diffused  from  the  center 
to  the  frontiers  of  the  Empire.  The  armies  of  Britain,  of 
Syria  and  of  Illyricum  lamented  the  death  of  Pertinax,  in 
whose  company,  or  under  whose  command,  they  had  so  often 
fought  and  conquered.  They  received  with  surprise,  with 
indignation  and  perhaps  with  envy,  the  extraordinary  intelli- 
gence that  the  Praetorians  had  disposed  of  the  empire  at  pub- 
lic auction ;  and  they  sternly  refused  to  ratify  the  ignominious 
bargain.  Their  immediate  and  unanimous  revolt  was  fatal 
to  Julian ;  but  it  was  fatal  at  the  same  time  to  public  peace." 
—P.  161. 

Quotations  from  this  standard  historian  might 
be  multiplied  regarding  this  period  when  the  Roman 
Empire  was  deluged  with  the  blood  of  its  own 
soldiers.  The  words  italicized  show  that  he  has 
recorded  the  events  of  history  in  language  almost 
identical  with  that  used  by  the  prophet  John  in 
foretelHng  them.  During  this  bloody  period  fifty- 
nine  rulers  ascended  the  throne,  and  all  but  two 
of  these  died  violent  deaths.  One  more  quotation 
will  be  given  from  Sismondi's  "Fall  of  the  Roman 
Empire,"  Vol.  I.,  p.  36.  It  will  confirm  with 
remarkable  exactness  the  fulfillment  of  the  predic- 
tions under  the  second  seal: 

"With  Commodus  commenced  the  third  and  most  calam- 
itous period.     It  lasted  ninety-two  years,   from   192  to  284. 

106 


OPENING    THE    SEALED    BOOK 

During  that  period  thirty-two  emperors  and  twenty-seven 
pretenders  alternately  hurled  each  other  from  the  throne  by 
incessant  civil  warfare.  Ninety-two  years  of  almost  inces- 
sant civil  warfare  taught  the  world  on  what  a  frail  founda- 
tion the  virtue  of  the  Antonines  had  placed  the  felicity  of 
the  empire." 

"Peace  was  taken  from  the  earth."  They  slew 
one  another.  The  officers  whose  symbol  of  office 
was  "a  great  sword"  were  the  instigators  and  leaders 
in  the  great  internal  strife.  Following  a  most  con- 
temptible reign  of  twelve  years  by  Commodus,  he 
was  slain  by  the  Praetorian  prefect  in  192  A.  D. 
Then  follow  ninety-two  years  of  murder  that  are 
fittingly  symbolized  by  the  red  horse.  How  was 
the  aged  exile  of  Patmos  enabled  to  foretell  with 
such  terse  and  vivid  description  the  events  still 
more  than  a  century  in  the  future?  There  is  but 
one  answer.  He  gave  us  an  accurate  transcription 
of  the  book  that  was  in  the  right  hand  of  Jehovah. 
This  will  be  emphasised  more  and  more  as  new 
pages  are  spread  before  us  with  the  opening  of 
the  seals  and  the  accuracy  of  fulfillment  is  realized. 

With  the  opening-  of  the  third 
Third  Seal:  ,  ..,    r     ■,    X  ,    ,. 

seal   we   still   nnd  the   symbolism 

*       '  of   the   horse   present.,      Struggle 

and  strife  will  continue  within  the  Roman  Empire. 
The  color  of  the  horse  is  different,  showing  that 
the  conditions  of  the  struggle  taking  place  under 
this  seal  are  different  in  some  particulars  from  those 
under  the  previous  seal.  The  identifying  char- 
acteristic of  the  black-horse  rider  is  "a  balance  in 
his    hand"    instead   of   a    sword.      The   meaning   of 

107 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

black  is  universal  in  its  import.  It  is  the  natural 
consequence  of  the  havoc  wrought  by  the  sword  in 
a  civil  contest.  It  would  be  apparent  long  before 
the  sword  had  completed  its  execution.  The  older 
generation  who  still  hold  in  their  memories  the 
trying  days  of  civil  war  in  the  United  States  will 
recall  that  the  weeping  of  widows  and  orphans  was 
heard  in  the  land  long  before  the  surrender  of 
General  Lee,  and  that  the  end  of  the  rebellion  did 
not  mark  the  beginning  of  mourning,  hunger  and 
want.  The  conditions  of  this  period  arise  out 
of,  and  are  partly  coincident  with,  the  conditions 
under  the  second  seal.  This  is  plainly  indicated. 
Under  the  second  seal  "another  horse  came  forth," 
clearly  denoting  that  the  period  symbolized  by  the 
white  horse  was  at  an  end.  When  the  third  seal 
is  opened,  the  writer  simply  says,  "Behold,  a  black 
horse."  It  did  not  come  forth.  It  was  already 
present.  The  same  is  true  of  "the  pale  horse"  of 
the  fourth  seal.  The  conditions  of  each  period 
resulted  from  the  conditions  of  the  period  immedi- 
ately preceding.  The  meaning  to  be  gleaned  from 
the  symbolism  of  the  third  seal  is  aptly  indicated 
by  the  prophet  Jeremiah: 

"Their  visage  is  blacker  than  a  coal;  they  are  not  known  in 

the  streets : 
Their  skin  cleaveth  to  their  bones ;  it  is  withered,  it  is  become 

like  a  stick. 
They  that  are  slain  with  the  sword  are  better  than  they  that 

are  slain  with  hunger; 
For  these  pine  away,  stricken  through,  for  want  of  the  fruits 

of.  the  field."— Lam.  4 :  8,  9. 
108 


OPENING    THE    SEALED    BOOK 

After  a  few  years  of  such  civil  strife  as  occurred 
under  the  second  seal,  grim  hunger  would  sweep 
throughout  the  empire  as  the  black  nemesis  of 
judgment.  The  land  ravaged  by  opposing  armies 
would  be  robbed  of  the  fruits  of  the  field.  The 
activities  of  agriculture  and  commerce  would  be  neg- 
lected for  the  destructive  pursuit  of  arms.  More 
emphatic  still  is  the  description  of  a  period  of 
want  and  excessive  taxation  which  appears  in  the 
balance  held  in  the  hand  of  the  black-horse  rider. 
"And  he  that  sat  thereon  had  a  balance  in  his  hand. 
And  I  heard  as  it  were  a  voice  in  the  midst  of  the 
four  living  creatures  saying,  A  measure  of  wheat 
for  a  shilling,  and  three  measures  of  barley  for  a 
shilling;  and  the  oil  and  the  wine  hurt  thou  not" 
(vs.  5,  6).  The  prophet  Ezekiel  clearly  indicates 
the  conditions  that  prevail  when  the  balance,  the 
instrument  of  weight,  is  prominent.  "Moreover  he 
said  unto  me.  Son  of  man,  behold,  I  will  break  the 
staff  of  bread  in  Jerusalem:  and  they  shall  eat 
bread  by  weight,  and  with  fear  fulness ;  and  they 
shall  drink  water  by  measure,  and  in  dismay:  that 
they  may  want  water  and  bread,  and  pine  away  in 
their  iniquity"  (Ezek.  4:16,  17).  The  excessive 
prices  of  the  staple  articles  of  food  characterize  the 
period  described.  A  measure  of  wheat  is  about  a 
quart.  The  price  exacted  for  the  quart  was  the 
daily  wage  of  a  laboring  man.  At  the  prevailing 
wages  wheat  would  sell  for  about  sixty- four  dollars 
per  bushel,  and  barley  would  sell  for  about  twenty- 
one  dollars  per  bushel.  One  could  well  imagine  the 
hunger    and    destitution    that    would    ensue    if    the 

109 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

relative  prices  prevailed  to-day  that  were  exacted 
during  the  black-horse  period.  Oil  and  wine  were 
luxuries  of  life  throughout  the  East,  and  while  the 
necessities  of  life  were  beyond  the  reach  of  the 
great  mass  of  common  people,  the  rich  could  still 
enjoy  the  luxuries  without  any  increase  in  cost. 

With  the  continuance  of  civil  war  the  necessities 
of  government  would  also  require  an  increase  of 
taxation.  Gibbon  gives  a  very  vivid  picture  of  the 
desolation  that  reigned  at  the  time  of  Maximin, 
about  237  A.  D. : 

"When  the  troops  of  Maximin,  advancing  in  excellent 
order,  arrived  at  the  foot  of  the  Julian  Alps,  they  were  ter- 
rified by  the  silence  and  desolation  that  reigned  on  the  fron- 
tiers of  Italy.  The  villages  and  open  towns  had  been  aban- 
doned on  their  approach  by  the  inhabitants,  the  cattle  had 
been  driven  away,  the  provisions  removed  or  destroyed,  the 
bridges  broken  down,  nor  was  anything  left  which  could  af- 
ford either  shelter  or  subsistence  to  the  invader.  Such  had 
been  the  v/ise  orders  of  the  generals  of  the  Senate,  whose 
design  was  to  protract  the  war,  to  ruin  the  army  of  Maximin 
by  the  slow  operation  of  famine." — Decline  and  Fall  of  the 
Roman  Empire,  Vol.  I.,  p.  239. 

In  the  same  volume,  page  221,  the  historian 
comments  upon  the  increase  of  taxation,  in  these 
words : 

"Nor  was  the  rapacious  son  of  Severus  contented  with 
such  a  measure  of  taxation  as  had  appeared  sufficient  to  his 
moderate  predecessors.  Instead  of  a  twentieth,  he  exacted  a 
tenth  of  all  legacies  and  inheritances;  and  during  his  reign 
he  crushed  alike  every  part  of  the  empire  under  the  weight 
of  his  iron  scepter." 

110 


OPENING    THE    SEALED    BOOK 

Speaking  about  the  reign  of  this  emperor,  on 
page  189,  he  says: 

"The  Senators,  compelled  by  fear  to  attend  his  capricious 

motions,  were  obliged  to  provide  daily  entertainments  at  an 
immense  expense,  which  he  abandoned  with  contempt  to  his 
guards;  and  to  erect,  in  every  city,  magnificent  palaces  and 
theaters,  which  he  either  disdained  to  visit,  or  ordered  to  be 
immediately  thrown  down.  The  most  wealthy  families  were 
ruined  by  partial  fines  and  confiscations,  and  the  great  body 
of  his  subjects  oppressed  by  ingenious  and  aggravated  taxes." 

The  oppressions  that  began  to  manifest  them- 
selves with  such  violence,  and  the  want  that  would 
naturally  result,  were  but  the  precursors  of  the 
period  that  would  follow  in  the  wake  of  such 
long-continued   and   unnatural    conditions. 

When    the    fourth    seal    was 
Fourth  Seal:  j  i     i_  i       j 

opened  a  pale  horse  was  already 

'  in  the   view  of  the  prophet.     It 

did  not  come  forth  after  the  seal  was  opened.  "And 
he  that  sat  upon  him  was  Death;  and  Hades  fol- 
lowed with  him.  And  there  was  given  to  them 
authority  over  a  fourth  part  of  the  earth,  to  kill 
with  the  sword,  and  with  famine  and  with  death, 
by  the  wild  beasts  of  the  earth"   (v.  8). 

A  period  of  history  indicated  by  such  vivid 
symbolism  could  not  be  mistaken  by  any  one.  A 
fourth  part  of  the  entire  population  of  the  Roman 
Empire  would  be  claimed  by  the  rider  of  the  pale 
horse  and  his  companions,  for  they  were  given 
"authority  over  a  fourth  part  of  the  earth."  Murder, 
rapine  and  plunder  v/ould  be  the  distinguishing 
characteristics  of  the  period.     Famine  and  pestilence 

111 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

would  claim  their  share.  Wild  beasts,  also,  have 
a  part  in  the  general  sorrow  that  overwhelms  the 
unhappy  nation  at  the  time.  The  color  of  the  horse 
harmonizes  accurately  with  the  other  symbols.  He 
has  the  pallor  of  death  that  follows  long-continued 
sickness.  It  is  the  sign  of  national  weakness  and 
decay  produced  by  the  internal  dissensions  so  long 
continued.  The  period,  during  which  this  symbolism 
was  completely  fulfilled,  began  about  250  A.  D. 
It  embraces  the  reigns  of  Decius,  Gallus,  ^milianus, 
Valerian  and  Gallienus.  Gibbon  gives  the  facts 
as  they  occurred,  and  the  reader  can  judge  for 
himself  as  to  the  exact  agreement  between  prophecy 
and  history: 

"From  the  great  secular  games  celebrated  by  Philip,  to 
the  death  of  the  emperor  Gallienus,  there  elapsed  twenty 
3'ears  of  shame  and  misfortune.  During  that  calamitous 
period,  every  instant  of  time  was  marked,  every  province  of 
the  Roman  world  was  afflicted,  by  barbarous  invaders  and 
military  tyrants,  and  the  ruined  empire  seemed  to  approach 
the  last  and  fatal  moment  of  its  dissolution." — Decline  and 
Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,  Vol.  I.,  p.  298. 

Again   the    historian   reverts    to   this    period    in 
these  words: 

"Our  habits  of  thinking  so  fondly  connect  the  order  of 
the  universe  with  the  fate  of  man,  that  this  gloomy  period  of 
history  has  been  decorated  with  inundations,  earthquakes,  un- 
common meteors,  preternatural  darkness,  and  a  crowd  of 
prodigies,  fictitious  or  exaggerated.  But  a  long  and  a  gen- 
eral famine  was  a  calamity  of  a  more  serious  kind.  It  was 
the  inevitable  consequence  of  rapine  and  oppression,  which 
extirpated  the  produce  of  the  present  and  the  hope  of  future 
harvests.     Famine  is  almost  always  followed  by  epidemical 

112 


OPENING    THE    SEALED    BOOK 

diseases,  the  effect  of  scanty  and  unwholesome  food.  Other 
causes  must,  however,  have  contributed  to  the  furious  plague 
which,  from  the  year  250  to  the  year  265,  raged  without  inter- 
ruption in  every  province,  every  city,  and  almost  every  family, 
of  the  Roman  Empire.  During  sometime  five  thousand  per- 
sons died  daily  in  Rome;  and  many  towns,  that  had  escaped 
the  hands  of  the  barbarians,  were  entirely  depopulated. 

An  exact  register  was  kept  at  Alexandria  of  all  citizens 
entitled  to  receive  the  distribution  of  corn.  It  was  found 
that  the  ancient  number  of  those  comprised  between  the  ages 
of  forty  and  seventy  had  been  equal  to  the  whole  sum  of 
claimants,  from  fourteen  to  fourscore  years  of  age,  who  re- 
mained alive  after  the  reign  of  Gallienus.  Applying  this 
authentic  fact  to  the  most  correct  tables  of  mortality,  it  evi- 
dently proves  that  above  half  of  the  people  of  Alexandria 
had  perished ;  and  could  we  venture  to  extend  the  analogy  to 
other  provinces,  we  might  suspect  that  war,  pestilence  and 
famine  had  consumed,  in  a  few  years,  the  moiety  of  the 
human  species." — Vol.  I.,  pp.  343,  344. 

God  has  not  left  himself  without  a  witness.  He 
makes  even  the  unbelieving  historian  bear  careful 
and  accurate  testimony  to  the  complete  fulfillment 
of  his  word.  Unconsciously  he  uses  the  very  terms 
indicated  by  the  symbols  that  John  saw.  The  period 
is  given  with  precision.  The  extent  to  which  Death 
and  Hades  exercise  their  authority  is  estimated  by 
the  historian  in  numbers  even  exceeding  the  one- 
fourth  part  that  was  allotted  to  them. 

Four  seals  have  now  been  opened,  and  each  one 
has  been  marked  by  an  announcement  by  each  one 
of  the  four  living  creatures.  As  to  what  significance 
this  may  have  we  do  not  pretend  to  say  further 
than  that  the  events  symbolized  are  connected  with 
each   other   in   unbroken   chain   and   are   related   to 

8  113 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

each  other  much  as  cause  to  effect.  With  the  end 
of  the  fourth  period  pagan  Rome  has  reached  that 
stage  of  decay  when  her  dissolution  was  certain 
and  she  would  give  place  to  a  new  and  a  mighty 
force  which,  in  spite  of  the  turbulence  and  slaugh- 
ter, has  now  developed  to  proportions  that  must  be 
reckoned  with.  With  the  opening  of  the  fifth  seal 
the  subject-matter  of  the  visions  will  concern  the 
progress  of  Christianity. 


114 


CHAPTER  VI. 
OPENING  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  SEALS 

THE  symbolism  connected  with  the  fifth,  sixth 
and  seventh  seals  stands  out  in  marked  con- 
trast with  that  connected  with  the  first  four.  The 
varicolored  horses  with  their  riders  no  longer 
appear,  and  the  living  creatures  do  not  invite  the 
seer  to  inspect  the  unsealed  page.  On  the  other 
hand,  even  the  casual  reader  can  not  but  be 
impressed  that  these  have  to  do  with  spiritual 
things  because  of  the  very  terms  employed.  They 
speak  of  the  altar,  martyrdom,  the  Lamb,  sealing 
of  the  redeemed,  and  the  measurement  of  the 
temple.  Christianity  has  been  insinuating  itself  in 
all  the  ramifications  of  the  empire,  and  the  time  has 
almost  arrived  when  it  will  take  its  place  as  the 
ruling  influence  in  governmental  affairs.  Instead  of 
paganism,  Christianity  will  soon  become  the  religion 
of  the  vast  Roman  empire. 

Fifth  Seal:  "And  when  he  had  opened  the  fifth 

Rev   6'o-ii  ^^^^'   ^  ^^^  underneath  the  altar  the 

souls  of  them  that  had  been  slain  for 

the  word  of  God,  and  for  the  testimony  which  they  held: 

and  they  cried  with  a  great  voice   saying,   How  long,   O 

115 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

Master,  the  holy  and  true,  dost  thou  not  judge  and  avenge 
our  blood  on  them  that  dwell  upon  the  earth?"  (vs.  9,  10). 

The  prominent  and  distinguishing  features  of 
the  opening  of  this  seal  are  (1)  the  altar;  (2)  who 
it  is  that  speaks;  (3)  their  cry.  The  Jewish  taber- 
nacle, with  its  furniture,  was  a  pattern  of  heavenly 
things.  The  altar  which  John  saw  was  the  divine 
prototype  of  the  altar  of  burnt-offering  which  stood 
in  the  outer  court  or  most  public  place  of  the  taber- 
nacle. It  was  the  place  where  the  officiating  priest 
poured  out  the  blood  of  the  sacrifice  and  whereon 
he  burnt  the  fat  of  the  victim  (Lev.  4:7-10).  It 
speaks  of  the  slaughter  of  innocent  ones.  This  is 
further  emphasized  by  the  description  that  follows. 
Underneath  the  altar  were  seen  the  souls  of  them 
that  had  been  slain,  and  the  reason  for  their  slaying 
is  specifically  mentioned.  They  were  slain  for  the 
word  of  God  and  for  the  testimony  which  they 
held.  No  language  could  be  simpler.  They  had 
been  Christians  and  had  suffered  martyrdom  for 
the  truth.  The  souls  of  all  the  martys  from  Stephen 
until  the  time  of  the  opening  of  the  fifth  seal  were 
collected  underneath  the  apocalyptic  altar.  What 
a  company  of  departed  ones  it  must  have  been.  It 
is  no  wonder  that  when  their  sympathies  for  their 
brethren  on  earth  were  made  vocal  in  one  united 
appeal,  it  is  spoken  of  as  a  great  voice.  The  bitter 
trials  through  which  they  had  passed  were  now  to 
reach  a  culmination  in  the  fiercest  and  most  wide- 
extended  persecution  that  Christianity  had  yet 
experienced. 

The  previous   persecutions   were  more   local   in 

116 


OPENING   OF  THE   CHRISTIAN    SEALS 

character,  although,  to  a  limited  extent,  they  may 
be  called  general.  The  first  was  under  Nero,  about 
64  A.  D.  The  diabolical  emperor  ordered  the  city 
of  Rome  to  be  set  on  fire,  and  there  followed  nine 
days  of  conflagration.  In  order  to  excuse  himself, 
he  determined  to  lay  the  whole  blame  upon  Chris- 
tians, and  there  followed  scenes  of  inconceivable . 
cruelty.  Some  were  dressed  in  the  skins  of  beasts 
and  worried  to  death  by  dogs,  while  others  were 
sewed  in  clothing  saturated  in  wax  and  set  on  fire 
in  his  gardens.  Peter  and  Paul  are  reputed  to  have 
suffered  martyrdom  at  this  time,  but  we  have  no 
means  of  determining,  even  approximately,  the 
number  of  Christians  who  perished. 

The  emperor  Domitian  was  the  instigator  of 
the  second  persecution,  about  81  A.  D.  It  was  said 
to  be  his  purpose  to  put  all  the  lineage  of  David 
to  death  in  order  to  destroy  the  Jewish  hope  of  a 
Messiah.  A  great  number  of  Christians  suffered 
martyrdom  for  the  testimony  of  Jesus  during  this 
monster's  reign,  while  others  endured  excruciating 
torture,  among  whom  was  John,  the  aged  apostle, 
if  ancient  tradition  be  true. 

The  third  persecution  is  limited  to  the  reigns 
of  Trajan  and  Hadrian,  from  108  to  138  A.  D. 
Christianity  had  now  begun  to  assume  such  propor- 
tions as  to  arouse  the  distrust  of  the  rulers.  Pliny, 
governor  of  Bithynia,  memorialized  the  emperor  in 
regard  to  the  treatment  of  them  in  his  province. 
Trajan  instructed  him  that  they  should  not  be 
sought  out,  but,  when  they  were  brought  before 
him,  they  were  to  be  required  to  abjure  their  faith 

117 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

and  sacrifice  to  the  gods.  Under  even  this  limited 
edict  thousands  were  slain. 

Marcus  Aurelius  was  responsible  for  the  fourth 
persecution,  beginning  about  162  A.  D.  The  cruel- 
ties of  this  persecution  were  such  that  the  onlookers 
were  astonished  at  the  intrepidity  of  the  sufferers. 
One  shudders  to  read  the  description  of  the 
ingenious  and  cruel  forms  of  torture  inflicted.  The 
persecution  was  especially  severe  in  Lyons,  France. 
During  its  continuance  many  souls  were  assembled 
beneath  the  altar. 

During  the  reign  of  Severus,  beginning  192 
A.  D.,  the  pagans  became  alarmed  at  the  progress 
of  Christianity,  and  they  incited  the  fifth  perse- 
cution. It  attained  its  largest  proportions  in  Africa. 
Many  eminent  saints  perished  in  this  period. 

A  short  persecution  was  begun  under  Maximin, 
in  the  year  235  A.  D.  While  it  lasted  but  a  brief 
period  of  three  years,  "numberless  Christians  were 
slain  without  trial,  buried  indiscriminately  in  heaps, 
sometimes  fifty  or  sixty  being  cast  into  a  pit 
together,  without  the  least  decency." 

The  spread  of  Christianity  in  the  Roman  army 
aroused  Decius  to  inaugurate  the  seventh  perse- 
cution, and  an  attempt  was  made  to  stamp  out  this 
religion  from  every  part  of  the  empire.  This  began 
in  249  A.  D.  Fox  says :  "It  was  unfortunate  for 
the  gospel  that  many  errors  had,  about  this  time, 
crept  into  the  church:  the  Christians  were  at  vari- 
ance with  each  other;  self-interest  divided  those 
whom  social  love  ought  to  have  united,  and  the 
virulence  of  pride  occasioned  a  variety  of  factions. 

118 


OPENING   OF  THE   CHRISTIAN   SEALS 

The  heathen  in  general  were  ambitious  to  enforce 
the  imperial  decrees  upon  this  occasion,  and  looked 
upon  the  murder  of  a  Christian  as  a  merit  to  them- 
selves. The  martyrs  on  this  occasion  were  innu- 
merable." 

When  Valerian  ascended  the  throne  in  257  A.  D. 
he  instituted  a  persecution  that  continued  for  three 
y^ars  and  six  months.  Rank,  age  and  sex  were 
not  regarded.  "In  Africa  it  raged  with  peculiar 
violence;  many  thousands  received  the  crown  of 
martyrdom."  During  the  reign  of  Aurelian,  begin- 
ning about  274  A.  D.,  the  company  of  martyrs  was 
greatly  increased  by  the  large  numbers  who  were 
slain  for  the  word  of  God  and  the  testimony  which 
they  held. 

"Innumerable"  is  the  term  that  Fox  uses  to 
indicate  the  number  of  souls  beneath  the  altar  at 
the  opening  of  the  fifth  seal,  when  Diocletian  entered 
into  Rome  as  the  triumphant  "restorer  of  the  Roman 
world,"  303  A.  D.  Milman  emphasizes  the  impor- 
tance of  this  epoch-making  date  in  these  words: 

"The  final  contest  between  paganism  and  Christianity  drew 
near.  Almost  three  hundred  years  had  elapsed  since  the 
divine  Author  of  the  new  religion  had  entered  upon  his 
mortal  life  in  a  small  village  in  Palestine ;  and  now,  having 
gained  so  powerful  ascendency  over  the  civilized  world,  the 
gospel  was  to  undergo  its  last  and  most  trying  ordeal,  before 
it  should  assume  the  reins  of  empire,  and  become  the  estab- 
lished religion  of  the  Roman  world." — History  of  Christi- 
anity, Vol.  II.,  p.  207. 

That  this  is  the  date  of  the  events  of  the  fifth 
seal  is  seen   from  the   fact  that  it   follows  next  in 

119 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

succession  after  the  fourth  seal,  which  period  ended 
upon  the  accession  of  Diocletian  to  the  throne  in 
284  A.  D.  Nothing  of  epoch-making  importance 
occurred  in  relation  to  Christianity  until  this  date. 
The  emperor  was  engaged  in  pacifying  and  restor- 
ing order  after  the  ninety-two  years  of  civil  strife 
that  occurred  under  the  second,  third  and  fourth 
seals.  When  this  seemed  to  be  accomplished,  he 
returned  to  Rome,  and,  influenced  by  arguments  as 
to  the  alleged  dangers  of  Christianity  as  a  republic 
growing  up  within  the  empire,  he  set  the  twenty- 
third  day  of  February,  303  A.  D.,  as  the  time  to 
"set  bounds  to  Christianity."  Such  is  the  time  that 
harmonizes  perfectly  with  the  symbolism  employed 
in  this  seal.  It  is  in  the  hour  of  great  stress  the 
soul  cries  out  to  God.  No  greater  disaster  ever 
threatened  the  existence  of  the  religion  of  Christ 
than  that  which  was  indicated  by  the  ruthless 
destruction  of  churches  and  the  slaying  of  Chris- 
tians which  began  with  Diocletian's  edict. 

This  great  company  of  martyrs  were  not  crying 
out  for  revenge  for  the  wrong  that  had  already  been 
visited  upon  them,  but,  in  view  of  the  tribulation 
that  was  overshadowing  the  living,  their  plea  was 
for  the  Master  to  take  his  power  and  execute 
righteous  judgment  to  prevent  the  expected  suffer- 
ing while  another  persecution  should  rage.  The 
answer  is  tender  and  sympathetic:  "And  there  were 
given  them  each  one  a  white  robe ;  and  it  was  said 
unto  them,  that  they  should  rest  yet  for  a  little 
time,  until  their  fellow-servants  also  and  their 
brethren,  who  should  be  killed  even  as  they  were, 

120 


OPENING   OF  THE   CHRISTIAN   SEALS 

should  have  fulfilled  their  course"  (v.  11).  Each 
of  these  martyrs  was  publicly  justified  by  the 
bestowal  of  the  white  robe,  the  divine  raiment  of 
the  redeemed,  thus  teaching  that  those  who  were 
to  be  killed  as  they  would  likewise  be  arrayed. 
Though  the  cup  of  bitterness  should  yet  be  drained 
to  the  dregs  in  the  next  few  years  by  the  suffering 
saints,  there  certainly  awaited  for  them  the  robes 
of  white.  Well  could  they  await  the  times  and 
seasons  for  the  judgments  of  God  to  be  visited  in 
his  own  good  way.  Knowing,  then,  what  was  to  be 
in  store  for  the  multiplied  thousands  of  faithful 
Christians  who  would  give  up  their  lives  during  the 
next  ten  years,  they  would  manifest  no  impatience 
when  told  that  "they  should  rest  yet  for  a  little 
time."  Gibbon  gives  an  account  of  the  cruelty  of 
this  persecution  in  these  words: 

"The  resentment,  or  the  fears,  of  Diocletian  at  length 
transported  him  beyond  the  bounds  of  moderation,  which  he 
had  hitherto  preserved,  and  he  declared,  in  a  series  of  cruel 
edicts,  his  intention  of  abolishing  the  Christian  name.  By 
the  first  of  these  edicts  the  governors  of  the  provinces  were 
directed  to  apprehend  all  persons  of  the  ecclesiastical  order; 
and  the  prisons  destined  for  the  vilest  criminals  were  soon 
filled  with  a  multitude  of  bishops,  presbyters,  deacons,  read- 
ers and  exorcists.  By  a  second  edict  the  magistrates  were 
commanded  to  employ  every  method  of  severity  which  might 
reclaim  them  from  their  odious  superstition,  and  oblige 
them  to  return  to  the  established  worship  of  the  gods.  This 
rigorous  order  was  extended,  by  a  subsequent  edict,  to  the 
whole  body  of  Christians,  who  were  exposed  to  a  violent 
and  general  persecution." — Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman 
Empire,  Vol.  I.,  pp.  647,  648. 

Soon     after    the    persecution    became    general, 

12] 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

Diocletian  divested  himself  of  the  royal  purple,  but 
it  was  continued  in  the  various  parts  of  the  empire 
by  his  associates  with  all  of  the  malignity  of  the 
pagan  mind.  This  corresponds  to  the  period 
described  in  the  letter  to  the  angel  of  the  church 
in  Smyrna  (Rev.  2:8-11).  Its  close  (the  year  313 
A.  D.)  marks  the  beginning  of  a  new  epoch  in  the 
history  of  the  Roman  Empire  as  well  as  of  Chris- 
tianity as  symbolized  by  the  sixth  seal. 

The  importance  of  the  events 
symbolized  by  this  seal  is  indi- 
.  12-7, 17  cated  by  the  amount  of  space 
devoted  to  them.  In  point  of  time,  the  period 
denoted  by  the  strange  and  wonderful  imagery  of 
this  prophetic  vision  follows  after  that  of  the  fifth 
seal.  It  naturally  would  follow  the  year  313  A.  D. 
Bold  and  striking  is  the  symbolism  employed. 
The  general  impression  made  upon  the  mind  of  the 
casual  reader,  if  he  does  not  take  into  consideration 
that  figurative  speech  is  being  used,  is  that  the 
entire  cosmical  universe  is  being  disrupted  and 
destroyed.  As  the  seal  is  opened,  a  "great  earth- 
quake" occurs.  Not  one  that  simply  destroys  a 
city  or  a  province,  but  this  is  a  "great  earthquake." 
It  is  one  that  shakes  the  very  foundations  of  the 
world.  The  hills  and  the  rocks  are  rent  asunder  by 
the  mighty  disruptive  forces  from  within.  The 
mountains  crumble  as  ashes  as  they  are  shaken  with 
its  tremendous  power.  The  islands  of  the  sea 
disappeared.  This  great  catastrophe  involves  not 
the  earth  alone,  but  also  the  created  universe.  The 
sun  ceases  its  shining,  not  because  its   face  is  hid 

122 


OPENING   OF  THE   CHRISTIAN   SEALS 

by  clouds,  but  because  dissolution  is  taking  place 
within  itself.  Its  power  to  shine  has  gone,  and  it 
appears  as  the  ebon  blackness  of  sackcloth  of  hair. 
The  full  moon  that  filled  the  world  with  the  glory 
of  her  mellow  light  became  as  blood.  The  multi- 
tude of  stars  were  wrested  from  their  places  in 
the  firmament  as  if  in  the  stress  of  a  mighty  storm 
of  wind,  and  they  crashed  upon  the  earth  as 
blazing  balls  of  fire.  Terror  and  consternation 
reigned  as  the  firmament  itself  disappeared,  and 
humanity  fled  into  the  yawning  rents  of  the  rock, 
calling  to  the  reeling  mountains:  "Fall  on  us,  and 
hide  us  from  the  face  of  him  that  sitteth  on  the 
throne,  and  from  the  wrath  of  the  Lamb:  for  the 
great  day  of  their  wrath  is  come;  and  who  is  able 
to  stand?" 

That  this  is  not  descriptive  of  the  physical 
destruction  of  the  universe  is  apparent,  after  a 
moment's  thought,  for  two  simple  reasons.  First, 
it  is  expressly  stated  in  the  first  verse  of  Revelation 
that  its  contents  were  given  in  symbols  or  signs — 
"he  sent  and  *sign-i~fied'  it  by  his  angel  unto  his 
servant  John"  (Rev.  1:1).  We  can  not  possibly 
take  this  description  as  applying  to  the  dissolution 
of  the  things  of  the  cosmical  universe  when  the 
Book  itself  expressly  states  that  we  shall  not  so 
understand  it.  Second,  the  events  recorded  in  the 
seventh  chapter  occur  after  those  described  here  in 
point  of  time.  "After  this  I  saw  four  angels  stand- 
ing at  the  four  corners  of  the  earth,  holding  the 
four  winds  of  the  earth,  that  no  wind  should  blow 
on  the  earth,  or  upon  any  tree"    (Rev.  7:1).     In 

123 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

Rev.  7 :  3  the  angels  are  commanded :  "Hurt  not  the 
earth,  neither  the  sea,  nor  the  trees,  till  we  shall 
have  sealed  the  servants  of  our  God  on  their  fore- 
heads." If  the  physical  universe  had  returned  to 
primordial  chaos,  such  things  as  hurting  the  earth, 
the  sea  and  the  trees  would  be  impossible. 

These  physical  terms  employed  in  the  description 
are  symbols  denoting  definite  things.  Their  signifi- 
cance can  be  accurately  determined  and  their  mean- 
ing may  be  easily  comprehended.  It  seems  that  all 
the  spirits  of  evil  have  combined  to  leave  the 
impression  on  the  minds  of  men  that  the  Apocalypse 
is  couched  in  incomprehensible  language  that  none 
can  understand.  If  similar  language  were  used  in 
a  newspaper  or  in  ordinary  conversation,  no  one 
would  attach  any  difficulty  to  it.  We  speak  of  the 
"political  heavens,"  the  "scientific  world,"  a  "sea 
of  faces,"  a  "stream  of  immigrants,"  and  we  never 
confuse  these  terms  with  physical  things.  Why 
not  use  God's  book  with  the  same  common  sense? 
He  has  not  left  us  without  a  witness  to  the  meaning 
of  every  symbol  employed.  The  meaning  of  all 
Bible  language  is  determined  by  Bible  usage.  If 
it  is  literal,  it  is  to  be  understood  as  the  Scripture 
uses  literal  terms,  and  if  the  language  is  symbolical, 
as  that  of  the  Apocalypse  is  plainly  stated  to  be,  it 
must  be  understood  as  carrying  the  same  meaning 
as  indicated  by  their  use  in  other  portions  of  the 
Bible.  Symbols  do  not  have  strained  or  forced 
meanings.  The  ideas  conveyed  by  symbolic  language 
are  determined  by  the  general  sginificance  of  the 
literal    terms.      Thus,    an    earthquake    is    a    violent 

124 


OPENING   OF  THE   CHRISTIAN   SEALS 

shaking  or  trembling  of  the  earth  produced  by 
prodigious  forces  exerted  from  within  itself.  De- 
struction follows  in  its  wake.  Cities  are  destroyed, 
and  land  disappears  in  or  emerges  from  the  sea. 
Now,  the  same  general  ideas  are  conveyed  by  the 
term  when  it  is  used  as  a  symbol.  Symbolic  language 
would  be  meaningless  if  this  were  not  true. 

If  the  earth  signified  the  Roman  Empire,  a 
mighty  world  power,  as  John  uses  it  here,  then  the 
"great  earthquake"  would  convey  the  idea  that  a 
violent  convulsion  was  being  experienced  by  that 
ancient  monarchy.  Destructive  forces  within  itself, 
political  or  otherwise,  were  being  exerted  and  it 
was  rocking,  reeling  to  its  fall  and  dissolution. 
Long-established  customs  would  crumble  as  a  house 
with  an  earth  tremor.  Its  old  conditions  and  old 
religions  succumb  and  give  place  to  new  conditions 
and  a  new  religion.  This  is  exactly  what  occurred 
in  the  pagan  Roman  Empire  in  the  year  313  A.  D. 
Then  it  was  that  paganism  was  shaken  and  over- 
thrown by  prodigious  forces  that  had  been  developed 
through  three  hundred  years,  and  a  new  empire, 
professedly,  took  its  place. 

This  period  of  dissolution  of  pagan  Rome  was 
characterized  by  other  mighty  changes,  aside  from 
that  indicated  by  an  earthquake.  "The  sun  became 
black  as  sackcloth  of  hair,  and  the  whole  moon 
became  as  blood;  and  the  stars  of  the  heaven  fell 
unto  the  earth."  The  sun,  moon  and  stars  stand 
in  a  similar  relationship  to  the  pagan  Roman  Empire 
that  these  heavenly  bodies  do  toward  the  physical 
earth.     We  have  the  Scriptural  explanation  of  this 

125 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

in  Gen.  1 :  16:  "And  God  made  the  two  great  lights; 
the  greater  light  to  rule  the  day,  and  the  lesser 
light  to  rule  the  night:  he  made  the  stars  also." 
The  sun  and  moon  are  rulers,  the  sun  is  the 
supreme  ruler.  The  moon  reflects  the  light  which 
it  receives  from  the  sun.  The  idea  conveyed  by 
this  symbol  finds  its  representation  in  the  ruler,  or 
set  of  rulers,  who  were  immediately  associated  with 
the  head  of  the  empire  in  government  and  receive 
their  power  and  authority  directly  from  him.  The 
stars  are  represented  in  the  multitude  of  prominent 
men  who  occupied  places  throughout  the  empire. 
That  this  is  the  correct  thought  may  be  easily  verified 
by  reference  to  various  passages  of  Scripture.  Jacob 
had  no  difficulty  in  understanding  the  dream  of 
Joseph  as  recorded  in  Gen.  37 : 9,  10 :  "Behold,  I 
have  dreamed  yet  a  dream;  and,  behold,  the  sun 
and  the  moon  and  eleven  stars  made  obeisance  to 
me."  Jacob  did  not  think  for  a  moment  that  the 
heavenly  bodies  were  meant.  He  answered:  "Shall 
I  and  thy  mother  and  thy  brethren  indeed  come  to 
bow  down  ourselves  to  thee  to  the  earth?"  Here, 
Jacob,  the  head  and  ruler  of  the  family,  was  the 
sun.  The  mother,  associated  with  the  father  in 
the  control  of  the  family,  was  the  moon.  The 
eleven  sons,  who  were  to  be  heads  of  eleven  tribes 
and  conspicuous  in  Jewish  history,  were  stars. 
Daniel  speaks  of  soul-winners  as  stars.  "They  that 
turn  many  to  righteousness  shall  shine  as  the  stars 
for  ever"  (Dan.  12:3).  This  is  also  the  New 
Testament  usage.  Jude  speaks  of  a  certain  class 
of  men  who  were  corrupting  the  church  as  "wan- 

126 


OPENING   OF  THE   CHRISTIAN   SEALS 

dering  stars"  (v.  13).     Jesus  is  called  "the  bright, 
the  morning  star"  (Rev.  22:16). 

In  308  A.  D.  the  Roman  Empire  was  ruled  over 
by  Galerius,  and  associated  with  him  were  Licinius, 
Maximin,  Constantine,  Maxentius  and  Maximian. 
Following  the  deaths  of  Maximin  and  Galerius,  the 
number  of  emperors  was  reduced  to  four,  with 
Maxentius  as  chief.     Gibbon  says  of  him: 

**While  he  passed  his  indolent  life  within  the  walls  of  his 
palace  or  in  the  neighboring  gardens  of  Sallust,  he  was  re- 
peatedly heard  to  declare  that  he  alone  was  emperor,  and 
that  the  other  princes  were  no  more  than  his  lieutenants,  on 
whom  he  had  devolved  the  defence  of  the  frontier  provinces." 
—Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,  Vol.  I.,  p.  478. 

The  emperor  is  the  sun,  and  those  on  "whom 
he  had  devolved  the  defence"  are  represented  by 
the  moon.  It  was  in  312  A.  D.  that  Constantine, 
at  the  head  of  an  army  of  forty  thousand  soldiers, 
marched  through  Gaul  towards  Rome  to  overthrow 
Maxentius,  who,  as  the  emperor  of  that  great 
empire,  was  the  "sun"  of  the  pagan  world.  In 
battle  after  battle  Constantine  was  victorious  until 
the  last  stand  of  the  vanquished  armies  was  made 
at  Saxa  Rubra,  nine  miles  from  Rome.  Again  the 
tide  of  battle  turned  to  the  side  of  Constantine.  In 
the  confusion  of  a  crushing  defeat,  the  troops  of 
Maxentius  rushed  by  thousands  into  the  deep  and 
rapid  stream  of  the  Tiber.  Maxentius  attempted  to  es- 
cape back  to  Rome  by  the  way  of  the  Milvian  bridge. 
The  crowd  was  so  pressed  together,  however,  that 
he  was  forced  into  the  water,  where  he  was  imme- 
diately drowned  by  the  weight  of  his  armor.     Con- 

127 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

stantine  put  to  death  the  two  sons  of  the  tyrant,  and 
carefully  "extirpated  his  whole  race."  Thus  did  the 
"sun,"  the  most  conspicuous  light  of  the  pagan 
world,  cease  to  shine  and  became  "black  as  the 
sackcloth  of  hair." 

Almost  immediately  Maximin  "resolved  to  try 
the  fortune  of  civil  war."  With  his  army  he 
marched  against  Licinius.  Byzantium  surrendered 
to  him  after  an  eleven  days'  siege.  He  captured 
Heraclea,  but  here  he  heard  that  Licinius  was  but 
eighteen  miles  away.  Soon  the  final  battle  was  on, 
and  Licinius  won  a  decisive  victory  and  the  prov- 
inces of  the  East  acknowledged  his  authority.  The 
vanquished  Maximin  died  in  Tarsus  in  three  or 
four  months  afterward,  and  his  family  was  totally 
destroyed  by  Licinius.  Scarcely  a  year  passed  until 
Licinius  had  entered  into  a  conspiracy  with  Bassia- 
nus,  another  "lesser  light"  who  had  been  elevated 
to  the  rank  of  Caesar  by  Constantine  and  given 
authority  over  Africa.  The  immediate  result  was 
the  destruction  of  Bassianus  and  Licinius,  the  last 
of  these  associated  rulers  engaged  in  civil  war  with 
Constantine.  After  two  great  battles  he  sued  for 
peace,  which  lasted  but  for  a  few  years.  Again 
they  engaged  in  combat  at  Hadrianople.  The  army 
of  Licinius  was  defeated  and  he  fled  to  Byzantium. 
From  here  he  fled  into  Asia.  After  suffering  many 
defeats,  he  laid  himself  and  his  purple  at  the  feet 
of  his  lord  and  master.  He  was  imprisoned  and 
soon  executed  in  Thessalonica.  Civil  war  between 
these  rival  rulers,  who  were  associated  with  and 
received  their  power  from  the  chief  emperor,  charac- 

128 


OPENING   OF  THE   CHRISTIAN    SEALS 

terized  the  period  following  the  death  of  Maxentius. 
Thus  the  "whole  moon  became  as  blood."  Time 
and  space  fail  to  describe  the  downfall  of  the  con- 
spicuous men  of  the  pagan  world  whose  lights  were 
extinguished  in  the  disaster  of  the  time. 

In  connection  with  the  phenomena  already 
noticed,  "the  heaven  was  removed  as  a  scroll  when 
it  is  rolled  up."  Heaven  is  the  place  of  God's 
throne,  the  seat  of  his  power.  It  is  the  place  from 
which  he  rules  the  universe  and  executes  his  laws. 
The  Roman  Empire,  or  "earth,"  was  distinctly 
pagan.  Its  "heaven"  would  be  the  seat  of  the  power 
of  the  pagan  deities.  The  place  being  removed, 
there  would  be  no  longer  any  power  in  these  gods, 
for  they  no  longer  have  a  throne  or  seat  of  govern- 
ment. The  sun  and  the  moon  of  the  pagan  heavens, 
in  the  person  of  Maxentius  and  the  emperors  asso- 
ciated with  him,  having  ceased  to  give  their  light, 
and  the  prominent  pagans  of  the  empire  having 
fallen  to  the  ground,  paganism  as  a  religion  no 
longer  can  enforce  its  dominating  principles  upon 
mankind  through  the  avenue  of  the  edicts  of  pagan 
emperors.  Paganism  is  overthrown  and  Christianity 
takes  its  place.  At  the  same  time  that  the  above 
is  taking  place,  "every  mountain  and  island  were 
moved  out  of  their  places."  A  comparison  of  Dan. 
2 :  35  and  44  gives  us  the  symbolic  meaning  of 
"mountain."  In  the  thirty-fifth  verse  a  stone  be- 
comes "a  great  mountain."  In  the  forty-fourth  and 
forty-fifth  verses  we  have  it  identified  as  a  "king- 
dom." Gen.  10 : 5  shows  that  "islands"  denote 
territorial   divisions,   such  as  provinces.     Then,  the 

9  129 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

meaning  of  the  above  phrase  would  be  that  all  the 
former  divisions  of  the  empire  would  be  removed. 
This  was  the  result  of  the  civil  strife  between  the 
rival  emperors.  Gibbon  says  of  the  results  of  the 
victory  of  Constantine: 

"By  this  victory  of  Constantine  the  Roman  world  was 
again  united  under  the  authority  of  one  emperor,  thirty- 
seven  years  after  Diocletian  had  divided  his  power  and  prov- 
inces with  his  associate  Maximian." — Decline  and  Fall  of 
the  Roman  Emire,  Vol.  I.,  p.  506. 

Thus,  not  only  were  the  "mountains"  and 
"islands"  removed  and  the  empire  had  become  a  unit 
again,  but  the  pagan  power  had  also  been  banished 
in  this  same  struggle.  Gibbon  says,  on  the  same 
page  just  quoted  from:  "The  foundation  of  Con- 
stantinople, and  the  establi.shment  of  the  Christian 
religion,  were  the  immediate  and  memorable  conse- 
quences of  this  revolution."  The  date  of  the 
execution  of  Licinius  and  the  restoration  of  the 
united  empire  was  324  A.  D.  In  the  foundation  of 
Constantinople  and  the  removal  of  the  capital  from 
Rome,  that  ancient  seat  of  pagan  government,  the 
very  foundations  of  heathen  religion  crumbled  and 
the  vivid  symbolism  of  this  part  of  the  sixth  seal 
is  completely  and  accurately  fulfilled.  The  secret 
of  the  fear  and  consternation  that  filled  the  hearts 
of  mankind  during  this  period,  as  indicated  in 
verses  15-17,  is  found  in  the  fact  that  Constantine 
professed  Christianity.  At  the  head  of  his  armies 
was  carried  a  long,  white  banner  upon  which  was 
the  sign  of  the  cross.  The  pagans  recognized  the 
struggle  as  a  contest  between  paganism  and  Chris- 

130 


OPENING   OF  THE    CHRISTIAN    SEALS 

tianity,  and  they  rallied  to  the  foes  of  Constantine. 
All  of  these  who  called  for  "the  rocks  and  moun- 
tains to  fall  upon  them"  were  not  the  friends  of  the 
Lamb,  but  his  enemies.  They  were  afraid  of  his 
wrath.  As  Constantine  swept  on  from  victory  to 
victory,  the  pagan  world  was  thrown  into  a  chaotic 
state.  Gibbon  describes  the  condition  in  language 
very  similar  to  that  of  John: 

"The  ruin  of  the  pagan  religion  is  described  by  the  soph- 
ists as  a  dreadful  and  amazing  prodigy,  which  covered  the 
earth  with  darkness  and  restored  the  ancient  condition  of 
chaos  and  night." 

The  old  customs  having  passed  away,  the  lav/s 
were  now  tempered  by  -Christian  principles.  In 
331  A.  D.  the  heathen  temples  were  leveled,  and 
before  the  death  of  Constantine  in  337  A.  D.  the 
Roman  Empire  by  imperial  edict  had  become  nom- 
inally Christian.  The  far-reaching  catastrophe  has 
wrecked  the  pagan  universe,  and  the  vision  that 
follows  will  reveal  the  development  of  the  Christian 
universe  upon  the  ruins  of  the  old. 

Following      in      chronological 

ca  mg     o    s         order     the     mighty     convulsions 
through    which    Christianity    be- 
*^'^*^"  came   the  established   religion   of 

the  state,  we  have  the  events  which  are  symbolized 
by  the  two  visions  recorded  in  chapter  7.  "After 
this"  determines  for  us  the  relation  of  these  occur- 
rences to  the  preceding  ones.  The  place  where  the 
events  are  to  occur  is  also  determined.  'T  saw  four 
angels  standing  on  the  four  corners  of  the  earth." 
The  "earth"  is  now  professed  Christian  Rome,  since 

131 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

it  has  taken  the  place  of  the  pagan  empire.  They 
are  standing  on  the  boundaries  that  separate  the 
empire  from  the  unciviHzed  portions  of  the  world. 
These  angels  are  "holding  the  four  winds  of  the 
earth,  that  no  wind  should  blow  on  the  earth,  or  on 
the  sea,  or  upon  any  tree."  An  angel  is  a  "minis- 
tering spirit."  "Winds"  are  destructive  forces  that 
sweep  over  the  earth,  leaving  death  and  devastation 
in  their  wake.  This  is  emphasized  by  the  command, 
"Hurt  not  the  earth,  neither  the  sea,  nor  the  trees," 
given  in  the  third  verse.  The  angels  are  the  provi- 
dential agencies  that  restrain  these  destructive  forces 
from  at  once  sweeping  over  the  professed  Christian 
empire  to  its  hurt.  They  are  held  back  as  dogs 
straining  at  their  leash.  The  "sea"  is  a  symbol  for 
a  multitude  of  people,  as  we  have  already  found, 
and  signifies  here  the  population  of  the  empire.  A 
"tree"  represents  a  kingdom  or  a  province.  In  the 
dream  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  recorded  in  the  fourth 
chapter  of  Daniel,  the  great  tree  is  said  to  be  the 
Babylonian  Empire.  The  Jewish  nation  is  called 
an  olive-tree  (Rom.  11:24).  The  trees  represent 
the  provinces  or  vassal  kingdoms  which  made  up 
the  empire.  These  "winds"  that  threaten  the 
destruction  are  four  in  number.  These  are  the 
conditions  that  prevail  at  the  death  of  Constantine, 
337  A.  D. 

These  forces  of  destruction  are  restrained,  tem- 
porarily, at  the  command  of  another  angel  who 
ascended  "from  the  sunrising,  having  the  seal  of  the 
living  God."  None  of  these  forces  could  sweep 
over  Christian  Rome  "till  we  have  sealed  the  servants 

182 


OPENING   OF   THE    CHRISTIAN    SEALS 

of  our  God  on  their  foreheads."  This  angel  is 
identified  by  the  place  from  whence  he  came  and  by 
the  further  fact  that  he  had  the  seal  of  God;  The 
seal  is  a  mark  testifying  to  the  authority  of  the  one 
who  affixes  the  seal.  The  seal  of  the  living  God 
placed  upon  his  servants  would  be  the  divine  guar- 
antee of  their  redemption.  Paul  says:  "In  whom, 
having  also  believed,  ye  were  sealed  with  the  Holy 
Spirit  of  promise,  which  is  an  earnest  of  our 
inheritance,  unto  the  redemption  of  God's  own 
possession,  unto  the  praise  of  his  glory"  (Eph.  1: 
13,  14).  See,  also,  Eph.  4:30.  The  angel  came 
from  the  point  that  the  sun  was  to  appear.  Jesus 
is  the  Sun  of  righteousness,  and  when  he  ascended 
into  heaven,  the  Holy  Spirit  was  sent  to  abide  with 
his  disciples.  This  angel  is  identified  with  the  work 
of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

The  number  of  the  sealed  is  given  as  144,000, 
and  they  are  chosen  out  of  each  of  the  twelve  tribes 
of  Israel — twelve  thousand  from  each  tribe.  John, 
throughout  the  Apocalypse,  consistently  uses  all 
terms  applying  to  the  Jews  and  Israel  in  their  true 
typical  sense.  In  Rev.  2 : 9  and  3 : 9  we  find  him 
using  the  term  "Jews"  as  applying  to  Christians,  or 
the  true  followers  of  Christ.  So  here  the  twelve 
tribes  refer  to  the  entire  body  of  professed  Chris- 
tians in  the  empire.  But  "they  are  not  all  Israel, 
that  are  of  Israel."  While  Rome  was  professedly 
Christian,  still  her  Christianity  was  a  pretense. 
Christians  can  not  be  made  by  the  edict  of  an 
emperor  nor  by  professing  to  be  followers  of  Christ 
for  the  sak^  of  popularity.     Out  of  the  multitude 

133 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

that  professed  Christianity,  the  angel  places  the  seal 
upon  the  genuine  and  true  followers  of  Christ.  The 
Lord  knows  his  own.  They  are  elect,  chosen.  As 
in  the  days  of  Elijah,  when  there  was  a  remnant 
unknown  by  the  prophet,  but  known  to  God,  who 
had  not  bowed  to  Baal ;  so  in  the  unnumbered  multi- 
tude of  nominal  Christians  there  is  but  a  remnant 
who  are  worthy  of  receiving  the  seal  of  the  living 
God.  This  is  the  significance  of  the  number  144,000. 
Again,  in  the  fourteenth  chapter,  we  find  it  as  the 
symbolical  number  representing  those  who  "have 
been  purchased  out  of  the  earth." 

This  number  is  made  up  of  an  equal  number 
taken  from  each  of  the  twelve  tribes.  In  passing 
from  literal  Israel  to  spiritual  Israel,  all  tribal 
preference  has  been  lost.  Each  tribe  is  on  a  plane 
of  equality.  In  the  Old  Testament  the  tribe  of  Levi 
had  no  inheritance  in  the  land,  but  in  this  list  the 
tribe  of  Levi  finds  a  place  with  the  others,  signify- 
ing that  the  prerogatives  of  the  Jewish  priesthood 
are  no  longer  maintained.  The  tribe  of  Dan  is  not 
mentioned  here.  This  tribe  left  its  inheritance  and 
conquered  the  city  of  Laish,  and  hence  it  became 
merged  with  Naphtali.  There  is  now,  therefore, 
no  distinction  between  any  part  of  spiritual  Israel. 
It  matters  not  whether  God  be  worshiped  in  Jeru- 
salem or  in  Samaria,  so  long  as  he  is  worshiped  "in 
spirit  and  in  truth."  The  seal  determines  who  does 
or  who  does  not  have  a  right  to  its  blessings  and 
privileges.  "If  any  man  have  not  the  Spirit  of 
Christ,  he  is  none  of  his." 

All  of  this  describes  a  period  of  temporary  peace 

134 


OPENING   OF  THE    CHRISTIAN    SEALS 

for  the  church  in  the  Roman  Empire,  beginning  with 
the  complete  overthrow  of  paganism  during  the 
reign  of  Constantine,  and  portrayed  by  the  imagery 
of  Rev.  6:  12-17.  Unmolested  by  her  former 
opposers  and  protected  from  the  devastating  power 
of  the  four  winds  as  they  are  restrained  by  the 
four  angels,  the  church  is  free  to  exercise  all  of  her 
energies  in  enlargement  and  development.  It  is  the 
period  of  calm  after  the  great  storm  that  resolved 
paganism  into  chaos,  and  during  which  a  new  creation 
will  appear  in  beauty  and  splendor.  As  the  bud 
unfolds  into  the  full-blown  rose  after  the  spring- 
time storm,  so  congregations  of  disciples  appear 
everywhere  throughout  the  empire  as  if  by  magic. 
Heathen  temples  are  transformed  into  places  where 
the  true  and  living  God  is  worshiped,  and  the  pure, 
gentle  teaching  of  the  Christ  becomes  interwoven 
with  the  fabric  of  civilization.  Had  those  four 
winds  been  permitted  to  sweep  across  the  empire 
before  Christianity  had  time  to  become  ingrained 
with  the  life  of  humanity,  the  religion  of  Christ 
would  have  been  completely  blotted  from  the  world. 
There  came,  therefore,  a  period  of  about  seventy 
years  of  providential  quiet  to  the  church,  extending 
from  about  337  A.  D.  to  410  A.  D.  During  this 
time  it  was  uncontaminated  by  the  thought  of  the 
uncivilized  nations  without  the  empire.  The  only 
danger  that  could  threaten  would  be  from  the 
corrupting  forces  from  within. 

When  the  sealing  is  complete  and  the  four  winds 
are  about  to  break  forth  from  their  providential 
restraint  in  all  of  their  fury  to  hurt  the  Christian 

135 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

empire,  the  heart  of  the  apostle  was  surcharged 
with  anxiety  for  the  future  of  the  church.  Is 
Christianity  to  be  blotted  from  the  earth,  after 
this  brief  period  of  sealing,  by  these  hurtful  agen- 
cies? Does  this  small  remnant  which  has  already 
been  sealed  constitute  the  entire  harvest  of  the 
gospel  of  Christ?  If  so,  it  would  be  pitifully  small 
and  unworthy  of  the  great  price  of  Calvary.  To 
answer  these  unspoken  questions,  the  seer  is  granted 
a  heaven-vision  before  the  seventh  seal  is  opened 
and  the  winds  are  loosed  (Rev.  7:9-17).  This 
vision  will  dispel  all  of  his  anxiety.  In  it  he  is 
permitted  to  have  a  momentary  glimpse  of  the  last 
day.  Although  the  mighty  storm-clouds  are  now 
beginning  to  envelop  the  Christian  world  and  its 
future  history  is  obscured  from  his  vision  for  the 
time,  yet  he  sees  at  the  last  day,  not  a  remnant  only, 
but  a  "great  multitude  whom  no  man  can  number." 
They  are  "out  of  every  nation,  and  of  all  tribes 
and  peoples  and  tongues."  Although  they  "come 
out  of  great  tribulation,"  he  can  view  with  calm 
complacency  the  destructive  sweep  of  the  four  winds 
across  the  empire  as  the  seventh  seal  opened.  Dur- 
ing this  last  period  of  human  history,  even  with  its 
apostasies  and  corruptions,  there  shall  be  gathered 
out  a  great,  unnumbered  multitude,  who  should  be 
arrayed  in  white  robes  and  unite  in  the  triumphant 
redemption  song:  "Salvation  unto  our  God  who 
sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb." 


136 


CHAPTER  VII. 
THE  SEVENTH  SEAL  AND  THE  FOUR  WINDS 

THE  Lamb  now  opens  the  seventh  seal,  and  the 
last  page  of  human  history  unfolds  before  the 
eyes  of  the  prophet.  The  book  of  the  ages  is  now 
completely  unsealed,  and  its  contents  are  no  longer 
a  mystery.  The  destiny  of  empires  and  peoples  and 
tongues  is  all  uncovered  on  this  last  page.  The 
hidden  secrets  of  the  future  are  symbolized  here. 
The  fortunes  of  the  church  that  he  loved  so  well 
are  now  unfolded.  The  aged  apostle  was  over- 
whelmed with  the  solemnity  of  the  moment,  scarce 
daring  to  cast  his  eyes  upon  the  portentous  pano- 
rama spread  out  before  him.  An  unearthly  stillness 
prevailed  for  a  brief  space  of  time,  premonitory  of 
the  coming  storm.  The  sealing  has  now  been  com- 
pleted, and  the  four  winds  are  permitted  to  sweep 
toward  the  doomed  empire.  Seven  angels  stand 
before  God,  "and  there  were  given  unto  them  seven 
trumpets." 

The  trumpet  sound  is  the  signal  for  the  gather- 
ing together  of  armies  to  battle.  This  fact  deter- 
mines the  nature  of  the  events  to  be  revealed.  Seven 
periods  of  war,  strife  and  desolation  are  to  succeed 
each  other.  The  place  that  is  to  be  the  scene  where 
these  disastrous  conditions  are  to  prevail  is  plainly 

187 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

indicated:  "And  the  angel  taketh  the  censer;  and 
he  filled  it  with  the  fire  of  the  altar,  and  cast  it 
upon  the  earth :  and  there  followed  thunders,  and 
voices,  and  lightnings,  and  an  earthquake"  (Rev. 
8:5).  The  "earth"  is  now  professed  Christian 
Rome.  Mighty  convulsions  would  again  disturb 
and  change  the  character  of  that  age-old  world- 
power.  Gibbon  gives  an  interesting  account  of  a 
great  natural  convulsion  that  occurred  a  few  years 
previous  to  the  time  that  the  first  trumpet  angel 
was  to  sound: 

"In  the  second  year  of  the  reign  of  Valentinian  and 
Valens,  on  the  morning  of  the  twenty-first  day  of  July,  the 
greatest  part  of  the  Roman  world  was  shaken  by  a  violent 
and  destructive  earthquake  The  impression  was  communi- 
cated to  the  waters;  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean  were 
dry  by  the  sudden  retreat  of  the  sea  .  .  .  but  the  tide 
soon  returned,  with  the  weight  of  an  immense  and  irresistible 
deluge,  which  was  severely  felt  on  the  coasts  of  Sicilj',  of 
Dalmatia.  of  Greece,  and  of  Egypt:  large  boats  were  trans- 
ported, and  lodged  on  the  roofs  of  houses,  or  at  a  distance 
of  two  miles  from  shore.  .  .  .  They  considered  these 
alarming  strokes  as  the  prelude  only  of  still  more  dreadful 
calamities,  and  their  fearful  vanity  was  disposed  to  confound 
the  symptoms  of  a  declining  empire  with  a  sinking  world." — 
Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,  Vol.  II.,  p.  473. 

Whether  this  prodigious  natural  phenomenon  was  a 
portent  of  the  political  convulsion  that  was  to  rend 
the  empire,  we  leave  the  reader  to  juds:e.  It  is  suf- 
ficient to  say  that  the  people  of  the  empire  at  the  time 
attributed  it  "to  the  particular  v/ill  of  the  Deity." 
In  any  case,  the  historian  dates  the  disastrous  fall 
of  the  empire  with  this  time. 

138 


SEVENTH  SEAL  AND  THE  FOUR  WINDS 

"In  the  disastrous  period  of  the  fall  of  the  Roman  Em- 
pire, which  justly  may  be  dated  from  the  reign  of  Valens, 
the  happiness  and  security  of  each  individual  v/ere  personally 
attacked;  and  the  arts  and  labors  of  the  ages  were  rudely 
defaced  by  the  Barbarians  of  Scythia  and  Germany.  The 
invasions  of  the  Huns  precipitated  on  the  provinces  of  the 
West,  the  Gothic  nation,  which  advanced,  in  less  than  forty 
years,  from  the  Danube  to  the  Atlantic,  and  opened  a  way, 
by  the  success  of  their  arms,  to  the  inroads  of  so  many  hos- 
tile tribes,  more  savage  than  themselves." — Idem,  p.  474. 

Language  could  not  make  clearer  the  fulfillment 
of  "the  thunders,  and  voices,  and  lightnings,  and  an 
earthquake,"  which  followed  the  casting  of  fire  upon 
the  earth.  We  have  the  date  of  the  preliminary 
part  of  the  seventh  seal  determined  for  us  by  the 
historian  as  beginning  in  the  reign  of  Valens,  and 
continuing  for  about  forty  years,  or  from  367  A.  D. 
to  410  A.  D.  The  fundamental  causes  are  traced 
in  the  vision  to  the  prayers  of  all  the  saints  that  had 
been  accumulating  during  the  preceding  periods. 
When  the  fifth  seal  was  opened,  a  mighty  petition 
went  up  from  the  souls  that  were  beneath  the  altar. 
But  they  were  told  that  they  must  rest  a  little 
season  until  their  "brethren  who  should  be  killed 
as  they  were,  should  have  fulfilled  their  course." 
During  the  tribulation  of  Diocletian's  persecution, 
and  the  turmoil  incident  to  the  establishment  of 
Christianity  as  the  religion  of  the  empire,  unnum- 
bered millions  of  prayers  must  have  ascended.  But, 
with  the  empire  Christian  in  name,  spiritual  condi- 
tions were  no  better.  Apostasy  had  set  in.  The 
gospel  was  no  longer  preached  in  its  purity.  The 
Council  of  Nice  had  been  held  in  325  A.  D.,  which 

139 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

caused  divisions.  A  hierarchy  was  being  developed, 
and  was  taking  the  place  of  the  simple  primitive 
organization  of  the  church.  The  church  had  come 
to  sustain  such  relation  with  the  political  govern- 
ment that  she  could  not  extricate  herself,  and  the 
prayers  of  those  who  could  rightly  be  called  saints 
were  continually  going  up  that  God  would  intervene. 
When  the  angel  of  the  altar  was  given  incense,  "the 
smoke  of  the  incense,  with  the  prayers  of  the 
saints,  went  up  before  God,"  and  the  immediate 
result  was  the  convulsions  that  followed.  Every 
saint  should  be  persistent  in  prayer,  knowing  that 
every  petition  is  reserved  until  the  proper  time,  and 
then  the  answer   follows  immediately. 

The  First  Wind:  *^And  the  first  sounded,  and  there 

Rev  8*  7  followed   hail   and   fire,   mingled   with 

blood,  and  they  were  cast  upon  the 
earth;  and  the  third  part  of  the  earth  was  burnt  up,  and 
the  third  part  of  the  trees  was  burnt  up,  and  all  green  grass 
was  burnt  up." 

The  "hail  and  fire,  mingled  with  blood,"  were 
cast  upon  the  "earth."  How  similar  is  this  manifes- 
tation to  that  plague  with  which  Egypt  was  afflicted 
when  Moses  sought  to  lead  God's  people  out  of 
bondage  (Ex.  9:23,  24).  "Hail  and  fire"  indicate 
devastating  agencies  that  leave  destruction  in  their 
path.  These  being  mingled  with  blood  denotes  that 
the  contests  between  armies  attend  the  manifestation 
of  the  destruction  of  the  existing  order  of  things. 
The  desolating  power  of  the  first  wind  is  felt  only 
by  "a  third  part  of  the  earth."  At  the  close  of 
Constantine's  reign  the  Roman  Empire  was  separa- 

140 


SEVENTH  SEAL  AND  THE  FOUR  WINDS 

ted  into  three  divisions,  which  were  maintained  dis- 
tinct until  the  fall  of  Rome.     Gibbon  says: 

"The  massacre  of  the  Flavian  race  was  succeeded  by  a 
new  division  of  the  provinces ;  which  was  ratified  in  a  per- 
sonal interview  of  the  three  brothers.  Constantine,  the  eldest 
of  the, Caesars,  obtained,  with  a  certain  pre-eminence  of  rank, 
the  possession  of  the  new  capital,  which  bore  his  name,  and 
that  of  his  father.  Thrace,  and  the  countries  of  the  East, 
were  allotted  for  the  patrimony  of  Constantius ;  and  Con- 
stans  was  acknowledged  as  the  lawful  sovereign  of  Italy, 
Africa,  and  the  Western  Illyricum." — Decline  and  Fall  of 
the  Roman  Empire,  Vol.  II.,  p.  93. 

But  one  of  these  divisions  was  seriously  affected 
by  the  destructive  forces  at  this  time.  A  few  sen- 
tences descriptive  of  the  ravages  of  the  Gothic 
barbarians  under  the  leadership  of  Alaric  show 
the  remarkable  accuracy  with  which  this  first 
trumpet  was  fulfilled.  In  almost  identical  language 
profane  historians  have  recorded  the  sweep  of  the 
northern  hordes  as  they  swept  down  over  the 
western  third  of  the  Roman  Empire.  Philostorgius, 
a  historian  of  the  time,  says: 

"The  sword  of  the  barbarians  destroyed  the  greatest  mul- 
titude of  men;  and,  among  other  calamities,  dry  heats  with 
flashes  of  flame  and  whirhvinds  of  fire  occasioned  various 
and  intolerable  terrors ;  yea,  and  hail  greater  than  could  be 
held  in  a  man's  hand  fell  down  in  several  places." — Hist.  Ecc, 
1,  ii.,  Ch.  7. 

Claudian,  in  describing  this  Gothic  war,  com- 
pares the  invaders  to  a  storm  of  hail  ("De  Bello 
Getico,"  v.,  173).  In  the  thirty-first  chapter  of 
Gibbon's  "Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire," 

141 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

the  author  confirms  the  description  already  given. 
He  describes  the  invasion  as  beginning  with  "the 
tremendous  sound  of  the  Gothic  trumpet,"  and,  also, 
"at  the  first  sound  of  the  trumpet  the  Goths  left 
their  farms."  The  devastation  that  was  wrought 
by  these  northern  tribes  is  represented  by  such 
terms  as  "the  Gothic  conflagration,"  and  "blood  and 
conflagration  and  the  burning  of  trees  and  herbage 
marked  their  path."  When  a  hermit  rebuked  Alaric 
for  his  ravages,  the  great  leader  confounded  him  by 
the  asservation  that  he  "felt  a  secret  and  preter- 
natural impulse"  that  compelled  him  to  march  to 
the  gates  of  Rome. 

These  will  be  sufficient  to  convince  the  reader 
that  the  Gothic  invasion  which  ended  in  the  sack 
of  the  city  of  Rome  in  410  A.  D.  is  the  complete 
fulfillment  of  the  symbolism  of  the  seer  of  Patmos. 
Six  hundred  and  nineteen  years  had  elapsed  since 
the  Eternal  City  had  been  menaced  by  a  foreign 
foe.  but,  weakened  by  the  preceding  periods  of  dis- 
order, she  was  unable  to  protect  herself,  and  for  six 
days  she  was  plundered  of  her  treasures  and  her 
buildings  burned  with  fire.  The  desolation  would 
have  been  complete  but  for  the  sudden  death  of 
Alaric  and  the  consequent  withdrawal  of  his  army. 
The  barbarians,  by  the  use  of  enslaved  labor,  turned 
aside  the  channel  of  the  stream  Busentinus.  and 
built  the  tomb  of  Alaric  in  its  bed.  The  waters 
were  again  turned  into  their  natural  course,  where 
they  conceal  the  remains  of  the  barbarian  leader,  but 
the  memory  of  his  tragic  end  was  sufficient  to  re- 
strain another  invader. 

142 


SEVENTH  SEAL  AND  THE  FOUR  WINDS 

The    scourge    that    desolated 
the  third  part  of  the  empire  fol- 
lowing the  sounding  of  the  first 
*  *    *  trumpet  affected  only  the  land,  as 

is  plainly  indicated  by  the  symbolic  language.  Such 
terms  as  "trees"  and  "grass"  denote  clearly  that 
devastation  was  wrought  by  armies  and  on  land. 
While  these  are  figurative  terms,  the  ideas  which 
they  convey  must  be  in  harmony  with  their  literal 
meaning.  When  the  second  trumpet  is  sounded, 
the  destruction  that  ensues  is  effected  on  the  "sea" 
and  on  "ships,"  clearly  indicating  a  maritime 
warfare. 

"And  the  second  ang:el  sounded,  and  as  it  were  a  great 
mountain  burning  with  fire  was  cast  into  the  sea :  and  the 
third  part  of  the  sea  became  blood;  and  there  died  the  third 
part  of  the  creatures  which  were  in  the  sea,  even  they  that 
had  life ;  and  the  third  part  of  the  ships  was  destroyed" 
(Rev.  8:8,  9). 

If  we  could  understand  the  language  used  in  its 
literal  sense,  we  might  gain  a  clear  conception  of 
what  it  is  intended  to  signify  when  used  in  its 
figurative  sense.  A  "burning  mountain"  would  be 
one  in  volcanic  eruption,  emitting  flames,  smoke 
and  lava.  The  casting  of  this  into  the  sea  would 
produce  a  violent  commotion  of  the  waters,  stirring 
them  to  unfathomed  depths.  Clouds  of  steam 
would  ascend  and  the  surface  of  the  water  would 
be  lashed  into  fury.  Billows  would  rise  mountain 
high,  engulfing  the  ships  within  range  of  the  dis- 
turbance. When  we  understand  the  language  in  its 
proper  figurative  meaning,  we  have  no  difficulty  in 

143 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

grasping  the  ideas  conveyed.  The  "mountain"  is 
a  kingdom  or  a  power.  In  his  threat  against 
Babylon,  the  prophet  says:  "Behold,  I  am  against 
thee,  O  destroying  mountain,  saith  Jehovah,  which 
destroyest  all  the  earth;  and  I  will  stretch  out  my 
hand  upon  thee,  and  roll  thee  down  from  the  rocks, 
and  will  make  thee  a  burnt  mountain"  (Jer.  51 :  25). 
The  "sea"  denotes  peoples  and  nations  (Rev.  17: 
15).  This  kingdom  which  is  in  eruption,  and 
bringing  terror  and  death  by  reason  of  its  violent 
manifestations,  is  moved  from  its  place  and  is 
hurled  into  the  western  third  of  the  Roman  people, 
and  a  mighty  disturbance  ensues. 

This  accurately  describes  the  Vandal  invasion 
from  422  A.  D.  to  439  A.  D.  So  terrible  was  the 
devastation  wrought  by  these  fierce  barbarians  from 
the  north  that  their  name  has  become  a  synonym 
for  everything  destructive.  They  swept  through 
Gaul,  Spain,  and  into  Africa.  Here  they  estab- 
lished their  sway  along  the  coasts  of  the  Mediterra- 
nean. The  fruitful  provinces  of  Tangier  and 
Tripoli  were  overwhelmed.  A  few  sentences  from 
Gibbon  will  indicate  the  severity  of  Vandal  warfare 
during  this  period: 

"The  hostilities  of  the  barbarians  are  inflamed  by  the 
fierce  and  lawless  spirit  which  incessantly  disturbs  their 
peaceful  and  domestic  society.  The  Vandals,  where  they 
found  resistance,  seldom  gave  quarter;  and  the  deaths  of 
their  valiant  countrymen  were  expiated  by  the  ruin  of  the 
cities  under  whose  walls  they  had  fallen.  Careless  of  the 
distinctions  of  age  or  sex  or  rank,  they  employed  every 
species  of  indignity  and  torture." — Decline  and  Fall  of  the 
Roman  Empire,  Vol.  III.,  p.  132. 

144 


SEVENTH  SEAL  AND  THE  FOUR  WINDS 

When  the  conquest  of  northern  Africa  was 
complete,  the  Vandals  built  and  equipped  a  great 
fleet  and  swept  the  Roman  fleet  from  the  seas.  The 
waters  were  reddened  with  the  blood  of  contending 
naval  forces.  The  ancient  capital  now  becomes  the 
prey  of  the  rapacious  followers  of  Genseric.  After 
a  fourteen  days'  siege  the  city  was  pillaged.  The 
precious  treasures  that  had  been  gathered  from 
every  part  of  the  world  during  many  centuries  were 
either  carried  away  or  destroyed.  Multitudes  were 
slaughtered.  When  the  Vandal  ships  sailed  away, 
Rome  and  Italy  were  devastated,  and  fully  a  third 
of  their  inhabitants  were  dead,  and  a  third  of  the 
naval  power  of  the  empire  was  gone. 

No    sooner   had   the   Vandals 
The  Third  Wind:      ^^^^^^^^^  their  desolation  of  the 
Rev.  8:  lo.  ii  unhappy    empire,    than    a    third 

wind  began  to  sweep  in  fury  across  the  Alps  and 
about  the  doomed  city  of  the  Caesars.  This  time 
the  agent  of  destruction  is  represented  as  "a  star, 
burning  as  a  torch."  Like  a  brilliant  meteor  shoot- 
ing athwart  the  sky  of  national  life,  a  great  leader 
will  appear,  momentarily  injecting  the  bitterness 
symbolized  by  "Wormwood,"  and  then  disappearing 
from  view. 

The  figurative  description  is  realized  in  the 
meteoric  career  of  Attila  the  Hun,  who  has  been 
called  'The  Scourge  of  God."  Gibbon  says  of  him 
that  he  "might  aspire  to  the  title  of  supreme  and 
sole  monarch  of  the  Barbarians."  He  "alone,  among 
the  conquerors  of  ancient  and  modern  times,  united 
the   mighty   kingdoms    of    Germany    and    Scythia." 

10  145 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

The  barbarian  princes  confessed  "that  they  could 
not  presume  to  gaze,  with  a  steady  eye,  on  the 
divine  majesty  of  the  king  of  the  Huns."  All  of 
the  details  of  this  vision  were  both  figuratively  and 
literally  fulfilled  in  the  sweep  of  the  Huns  through 
the  western  empire.  The  principal  operations  of 
this  daring  and  terrible  leader  were  carried  on 
along  the  rivers  that  found  their  sources  in  the 
Alps.  Leaving  the  Danube,  he  moved  his  standards 
toward  the  west.  After  a  march  of  seven  or  eight 
hundred  miles,  he  reached  the  conflux  of  the  Rhine 
and  the  Neckar.  After  building  a  bridge  of  boats, 
"his  myriads  were  poured,  with  resistless  violence, 
into  the  Belgiac  provinces.  From  the  Rhine  and 
the  Moselle,  Attila  advanced  into  the  heart  of  Gaul ; 
crossed  the  Seine  at  Auxerre."  He  moved  into 
Italy  and  spread  desolation  along  the  Po  and  the 
\ddua.  Heaps  of  stone  and  ashes  marked  the 
spots  where  there  had  been  flourishing  cities.  When 
an  embassy  came  from  Rome  to  treat  with  Attila, 
he  was  encamped  on  the  banks  of  the  slow-winding 
Mincius.  Attila,  influenced  by  superstitious  fear  of 
sudden  death,  as  was  visited  upon  Alaric,  after  his 
sack  of  Rome,  and  by  the  offer  of  an  immense 
ransom,  withdrew  his  armies  from  Italy  and  retired 
to  the  Danube.  In  a  short  time  death  suddenly 
claimed  him.  An  artery  bursted,  and  internal 
hemorrhage  ended  his  life.  The  vast  empire  of 
the  Huns  was  held  together  through  the  genius  of 
this  brilliant  leader,  and  upon  his  death  it  rapidly 
collapsed.  During  the  years  between  433  A.  D. 
and  453  A.  D.,  however,  Attila  was  the  "terror  of 

146 


SEVENTH  SEAL  AND  THE  FOUR  WINDS 

the  world,"  and  all  the  bitterness  of  "Wormwood" 
was  experienced  along  the  "rivers"  in  the  path  of 
his  invincible  armies. 

The  word  "river"  is  a  term  that  denotes  armies 
under  strong  leaders  or  kings.  This  is  shown  in 
Isa.  8:7:  "Behold,  the  Lord  bringeth  up  upon  them 
the  waters  of  the  River,  strong  and  many,  even 
the  king  of  Assyria  and  all  his  glory."  The  mean- 
ing is  that  all  the  armies  that  opposed  him  would 
suffer  the  bitterness  of  crushing  defeats.  This, 
also,  was  fulfilled  with  exactness.     Gibbon  says: 

"They  dictated  the  terms  of  peace,  and  each  condition  was 
an  insult  to  the  empire  .  .  .  that  a  fine  or  ransom  of 
eight  pieces  of  gold  should  be  paid  for  every  Roman  captive 
that  escaped  from  his  Barbarian  master;  that  the  emperor 
should  renounce  all  treaties  or  engagements  with  the  enemies 
of  the  Huns.  All  prisoners  taken  by  the  Romans  were  to  be 
released  unconditionally,  and  at  once." — Decline  and  Fall 
of  the  Roman  Empire,  Vol.  III.,  p.  144. 

"Wormwood"  aptly  describes  the  bitterness  that 

was   experienced   by   the   successors   of   the   Caesars 

as    they   yielded   to   the   insulting   demands    of   this 

cruel   barbarian.     The   Franks,   the   Gauls,   and   the 

other  races  that  composed  the  western  third  of  the 

empire,  and  which  are  denoted  by  the  term  "rivers," 

found  nothing  but  the  bitterness  of  wormwood   as 

they  were  vanquished  by  the  "Scourge  of  God." 

Three  winds  have  now  swept 
The  Fourth  ,,  .     ,  .^, 

over     the     ancient     empire     with 

destructive    fury.      As    the    first 

trumpet  sounds,  Alaric  the  Goth 

commences   his    ravages    and    leaves    "burned    trees 

147 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

and  herbage"  in  his  path.  When  the  second  trumpet 
sounds,  Genseric  the  Vandal  vents  his  fury  on  the 
seas  and  the  maritime  provinces.  When  the  third 
trumpet  sounds,  Attila  the  Hun  further  completes 
the  downfall  of  Rome  by  his  battles  and  his  destruc- 
tion of  cities  along  the  rivers.  When  the  fourth 
trumpet  sounds,  this  part  of  the  empire,  already 
weakened  by  these  dreadful  scourges,  is  to  experi- 
ence the  final  shock  of  doom.  Rome,  so  long  the 
queen  city  of  the  world  empire,  will  no  longer 
maintain  her  ancient  dignity,  and  the  territory  will 
pass  into  the  hands  of  barbarian  conquerors.  This 
is  plainly  denoted  by  the  figurative  language  used 
in  describing  the  dissolution  of  "the  third  part  of 
the  earth."  Under  the  first  trumpet,  the  "earth  is 
burned  up."  Under  the  second  trumpet,  the  "sea 
became  blood."  Under  the  third  trumpet,  the 
waters  of  the  rivers  "became  wormwood."  There 
remains  only  the  sky,  with  its  brilliant  lights,  to  be 
darkened,  for  extinction  to  be  complete. 

This  is  what  occurs  as  the  fourth  angel  sounds 
and  the  fourth  wind  begins  its  ravages.  "The 
third  part  of  the  sun  was  smitten,  and  the  third 
part  of  the  moon,  and  the  third  part  of  the  stars  ; 
that  the  third  part  of  them  should  be  darkened, 
and  the  day  should  not  shine  for  the  third  part 
of  it,  and  the  night  in  like  manner."  We  have 
already  found  that  the  "sun"  is  a  symbol,  denoting 
the  supreme  ruler,  or  the  source  of  political  power. 
The  supreme  authority  over  the  entire  Roman 
Empire  was  vested  in  the  rulers  of  the  three 
divisions  into  which  it  had  become  separated  at  the 

148 


SEVENTH  SEAL  AND  THE  FOUR  WINDS 

death  of  Constantine.  To  darken  "the  third  part 
of  the  sun"  would  mean  that  the  poHtical  authority 
of  the  third  part  of  the  empire  would  disappear. 
With  the  disappearance  of  this  division  as  a  part 
of  the  empire,  the  "moon,"  which  represents  the 
rulers  immediately  associated  with  the  chief  ruler 
or  source  of  power,  would  cease  to  shine  or  exercise 
authority. 

It  was  in  the  year  476  A.  D.  that  a  third  part  of 
the  sun  of  the  Roman  Empire  was  smitten  and 
ceased,  to  give  its  light.  Odoacer,  a  barbarian, 
assured  his  fellow-soldiers  that  if  they  would  asso- 
ciate themselves  with  him,  that  he  would  extort  the 
justice  which  had  been  denied  them.  Almost  spon- 
taneously they  flocked  to  his  standard  out  of  every 
camp  and  garrison  in  Italy.  Odoacer  resolved  to 
abolish  the  office  of  emperor  in  Rome.  He  entered 
Italy  at  the  head  of  the  Heruli  and  defeated  the 
army  of  Rome  at  Placentia,  at  which  place  Orestes 
was  slain.  Romulus,  the  weak  son  of  Orestes,  who 
had  been  proclaimed  emperor  at  Ravenna,  was 
banished  by  the  victorious  Odoacer,  and  Rome, 
which  from  her  seven  hills  had  been  the  mistress 
of  the  nations,  ceased  to  be  the  seat  of  political 
world  power.  The  people  who  had  formerly  boasted 
of  a  superiority  over  the  rest  of  mankind,  had  a 
barbarian  ruling  over  them,  and  their  hatred  of  him 
was  suppressed  by  fear.  During  the  reign  of  these 
barbarians,  beginning  with  the  downfall  of  the 
western  empire  and  ending  with  the  accession  of 
Pope  Gregory  (589  A.  D.),  the  light  of  western 
civilization   went   out,   and   the   pall   of   the   "Dark 

14fi 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

Ages"  enveloped  mankind.  The  flickering  candle 
of  Christianity  disappeared  in  the  wilderness,  and 
an  apostate  religion  developed  rapidly.  The  Bible 
was  hid  away  that  its  light  should  not  be  seen  in 
the  gathering  gloom,  and  longer  delay  the  manifes- 
tation of  "the  man  of  sin,"  who  was  to  sit  "in  the 
temple  of  God,  setting  himself  forth  as  God"  (2 
Thess.  2:4).  On  the  general  effect  of  the  barbarian 
rule.  Gibbon  remarks: 

"Notwithstanding  the  prudence  and  success  of  Odoacer, 
his  kingdom  exhibited  the  sad  prospect  of  misery  and  deso- 
lation. In  the  division  and  decline  of  the  empire,  the  tribu- 
tary harvests  of  Egypt  and  Africa  were  withdrawn;  the 
numbers  of  the  inhabitants  continually  diminished  with  the 
means  of  subsistence ;  and  the  country  was  exhausted  by  the 
irretrievable  losses  of  war,  famine  and  pestilence.  St.  Am- 
brose had  deplored  the  ruin  of  a  populous  district,  which  had 
once  been  adorned  with  the  flourishing  cities  of  Bologna, 
Modena,  Regium  and  Placentia.  Pope  Gelasius  was  a  subject 
of  Odoacer ;  and  he  affirms,  with  strong  exaggeration,  that  in 
iEmilia,  Tuscany,  and  the  adjacent  provinces,  the  human 
species  was  almost  extirpated.  The  plebeians  of  Rome,  who 
were  fed  by  the  hand  of  their  master,  perished  or  disappeared 
as  soon  as  his  liberality  was  suppressed ;  the  decline  of  arts 
reduced  the  industrious  mechanic  to  idleness  and  want;  and 
the  Senators,  who  might  support  with  patience  the  ruin  of 
their  country,  bewailed  their  private  loss  of  wealth  and  lux- 
ury. One-third  of  these  ample  estates,  to  which  the  ruin  of 
Italy  is  originally  imputed,  was  extorted  for  the  use  of  the 
conquerors." — Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,  Vol. 
III.,  p.  262. 

The  "moon  and  the  stars"  still  continued  to  shine 
dimly  after  the  accession  of  Odoacer,  but  in  the 
course  of  the  events  of  the  next  fifty  years  these, 

150 


SEVENTH  SEAL  AND  THE  FOUR  WINDS 

too,  ceased  to  shine.  Byron  described  this  period 
under  imagery  similar  to  that  of  the  apostle:  "She 
saw  her  glories  star  by  star  expire"  ("Childe 
Harold,"  Canto  IV.).  Thus  the  once  glorious  sun 
of  the  Roman  world  was  shorn  of  one-third  of  her 
light,  her  full-orbed  moon  was  veiled,  and  one-third 
of  her  stars  was  extinguished  forever. 


151 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
THE  THREE  WOE  ANGELS 

Announcement  "^^^  I  saw,  and  I  heard  an  eagle, 

flying   in    mid    heaven,    saying   with    a 

great  voice,  Woe,  woe,  woe,  for  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth, 

by  reason  of  the  other  voices  of  the  trumpet  of  the  three 

angels,  who  are  yet  to  sound"  (Rev.  8:  13). 

THIS  announcement  marks  the  end  of  the  first 
division  of  the  seven  trumpets  and  the  begin- 
ning of  the  second.  There  is,  therefore,  a  plain 
line  of  demarkation  between  the  first  four  trumpets 
and  the  three  which  follow,  just  as  between  the 
first  four  seals  and  the  three  which  follow.  This 
clearly  marked  division  noticed  in  both  the  seals 
and  the  trumpets  has  led  some  to  think  that  they 
both  relate  to  the  same  period  of  time,  and  that 
the  seals  and  the  trumpets  describe  the  same  events 
under  different  symbols.  The  apostle,  however,  is 
very  careful  to  indicate  that  the  events  symbolized 
under  the  seven  trumpets  follow  chronologically 
after  the  seventh  seal  has  been  opened.  "And  when 
he  opened  the  seventh  seal,  there  followed  a  silence 
in  heaven  about  the  space  of  half  an  hour"  (Rev. 
8:1).  It  was  following  this  silence  that  the 
trumpet  angels  begin  to  sound.  This  shows  con- 
clusively   that    the    trumpets    symbolize    the    seven 

152 


THE    THREE    WOE    ANGELS 

periods  of  strife  that  should  occur  during  the 
seventh-seal  period.  This  reminds  us  of  the  inci- 
dent in  the  sixth  chapter  of  Joshua,  recording  the 
fall  of  Jericho.  The  divinely  given  plan  of  attack 
was  for  the  people,  in  company  with  seven  priests 
having  seven  trumpets  of  rams'  horns,  to  march 
around  the  city  seven  days.  On  the  seventh  day 
they  were  to  march  around  the  city  seven  times,  and 
at  the  conclusion  the  downfall  of  the  city  would  be 
accomplished.  While  seven  seals  have  been  opened, 
representing  seven  divisions  of  history  in  the  over- 
throw of  human  governments  as  antagonistic  to 
Christ's  kingdom,  and  represented  by  Rome,  the 
universal  world  empire,  the  last  seal  is  further 
divided  into  seven  periods  represented  by  seven 
trumpet  angels. 

The  reason  for  the  marked  difference  between 
the  plainly  distinguished  divisions  of  the  seven 
trumpets  is  to  be  found  in  the  nature  and  character 
of  the  events  symbolized.  With  the  downfall  of 
the  western  empire  at  the  hands  of  Odoacer  in 
476,  fundamental  changes  gradually  took  place 
in  its  civilization.  New  elements,  hitherto  un- 
known, were  injected  into  the  fountain  of  national 
life.  The  manners  and  customs  and  religious  ideas 
of  the  barbarians  became  incorporated  into  those 
of  the  decadent  empire,  producing  conditions  entirely 
new.  Upon  the  accession  of  Constantine  and  the 
apparent  victory  of  the  church,  Christianity  received 
a  most  destructive  blow.  It  was  brought  into  close 
relations  with  the  state.  At  the  first  the  state 
dominated  the  church.    In  the  Council  of  Nice  (325 

153 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

A.  D.),  Constantine,  as  the  head  of  the  state,  domi- 
nated the  deliberations  of  the  bishops,  and  this  con- 
dition involved  the  church  in  dire  disaster.  The 
founding  of  Constantinople  as  the  supreme  capital 
of  the  ancient  empire  destroyed  in  a  measure  the 
age-old  prestige  of  Rome  as  the  political  world- 
center.  This  very  fact,  however,  aided  the  apostasy 
from  true  Christianity  that  had  been  developing. 
The  prestige  of  the  bishop  of  Rome  had  become 
very  great  by  this  time,  because  of  his  office  in  the 
capital  of  the  world.  The  removal  of  the  political 
capital  to  Constantinople  seemed  to  leave  the  Roman 
bishop  free  to  make  Rome  the  religious  capital  of 
the  world,  with  himself  in  supreme  control.  With 
the  Episcopal  idea  already  well  developed,  and  with 
the  powerful  aid  of  the  emperor,  it  was  not  long 
until  the  organization  of  the  church  had  developed 
along  the  lines  of  the  organization  of  the  empire, 
with  the  Roman  bishop  assuming  the  same  relation- 
ship toward  the  church  that  the  emperor  did  toward 
the  empire.  The  decadence  of  the  state,  by  reason 
of  the  disasters  that  overwhelmed  it,  only  acceler- 
ated the  apostasy.  As  the  state  was  weakened,  the 
influence  of  the  church  increased  until,  in  less  than 
two  centuries  after  the  downfall  of  Rome,  the 
church  absolutely  dominated  the  state. 

In  375  A.  D.,  Gratian  renounced  the  heathen  title 
of  "Pontifex  Maximus,"  which  title  was  afterward 
assumed  by  the  popes.  This  was  at  the  time  when 
the  first  trumpet  began  to  sound,  and  the  throne  at 
Rome  was  so  uncertain  that  the  title  could  no  longer 
be   claimed   by   the   political   ruler.      In   416   A.    D., 

154 


THE    THREE    WOE    ANGELS 

Innocent  I.,  bishop  of  Rome,  presumed  to  require 
all  of  the  churches  in  the  western  division  of  the 
empire  to  conform  to  the  customs  of  the  church  at 
Rome.  He  was  aided  in  this  by  the  emperor  Valen- 
tinian  III.,  who  issued  an  edict,  in  425,  requiring 
that  all  the  bishops  of  the  western  empire  obey  the 
bishop  of  Rome.  With  the  accession  of  barbarian 
emperors  in  476  A.  D.,  the  influence  of  the  church 
was  so  great  that  they  acknowledged  its  superiority 
over  the  state.  During  this  period  foreign  religious 
elements  were  incorporated  with  the  already  develop- 
ing apostasy,  so  that  soon  the  simple  Christianity  of 
the  New  Testament  was  completely  displaced  by  a 
counterfeit  religious  system,  the  most  damnable  that 
ever  cursed  humanity. 

It  was  during  this  period  immediately  following 
476  A.  D.,  that  the  announcement  was  made  that 
three  woes  would  be  visited  on  "them  that  dwell  on 
the  earth."  During  the  time  covered  by  the  sounding 
of  the  preceding  angels,  the  western  division  of  the 
empire  had  been  "burnt  up"  (Rev.  8:7)  ;  that  is,  it 
was  no  longer  an  integral  part  of  the  empire.  It 
was  soon  broken  up  into  independent  states  during 
the  course  of  the  barbarian  rule,  although  maintain- 
ing for  a  time  a  more  or  less  nominal  relationship 
with  the  central  division.  These  woes  will  then  af- 
fect the  two  remaining  divisions  more  directly. 
What  was  known  as  the  central  division  consisted  of 
Moesia,  Greece,  Illyricum  and  Rhoetia.  The  eastern 
division  consisted  of  Asia  Minor,  Syria,  Arabia  and 
Egypt.  These  countries,  then,  are  to  feel  the  weight 
of  these  new  calamities. 

155 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

The  First  Woe:  "And  the  fifth  angel  sounded  and  I 

^  saw  a  star  from  heaven  fallen  unto  the 

Kev.  g:  i-ii  ... 

earth :  and  there  was  given  to  him  the 

key  of  the  pit  of  the  abyss.     And  he  opened  the  pit  of  the 

abyss ;  and  there  went  up  smoke  out  of  the  pit,  as  the  smoke 

of  a  great  furnace ;  and  the  sun  and  the  air  were  darkened 

by  reason  of  the  smoke  of  the  pit"  (vs.  1,  2). 

The  fallen  '"star"  is  the  first  and  foremost  object 
of  the  vision.  He  had  already  "fallen  from  heaven," 
or  had  been  deposed  from  his  place  of  power,  at  the 
sounding  of  the  fifth  angel.  By  rights  he  was  a 
member  of  a  ruling  family,  but  through  some  circum- 
stance of  fortune  he  had  lost  that  position,  and  when 
John  first  saw  him  he  was  "on  earth" ;  that  is,  he 
belonged  to  the  great  class  of  the  common  people. 
As  to  whom  this  "star"  represents  must  be  deter- 
mined by  the  imagery  which  follows.  The  part 
which  he  performs  in  bringing  about  the  calamity 
that  follows  is  merely  to  "open  the  pit  to  the  abyss." 
When  this  is  done  his  work  is  ended.  The  "abyss" 
is  the  great,  dark  world  that  is  the  present  home  of 
demons  and  evil  spirits.  It  is  in  this  pit  that  Satan 
is  to  be  chained  during  the  thousand  years  of 
Christ's  reign  on  earth  (Rev.  20:  1,  2).  The  "star" 
opens  this  abode  of  evil  and  evil  ones,  and  its  murky 
atmosphere  comes  forth  and  settles  like  a  black  pall, 
hiding  the  face  of  the  "sun"  and  darkening  the  air. 
The  "sun"  is  the  chief  source  of  political  power  in 
one  of  these  divisions  of  the  Roman  Empire.  The 
symbols  that  follow  must  determine  which  one.  The 
air  is  the  medium  by  and  through  which  the  sun 
transmits  its  light  and  power  to  the  earth.     When 

156 


THE    THREE    WOE    ANGELS 

used  as  a  symbol,  it  would  denote  the  medium 
through  which  the  chief  ruler  exercised  his  power 
and  authority  over  his  subjects.  This  medium  would 
include  all  of  the  officials  in  the  various  parts  of  the 
government,  and  the  military  power.  The  imagery 
would  then  indicate  that  the  devilish  teaching  that 
issued  from  the  abode  of  demons,  as  a  result  of  the 
operations  of  the  "fallen  star,"  obscured  the  politi- 
cal authority  of  the  chief  ruler  or  rulers  of  a  divi- 
sion of  the  empire,  and  that  the  armies  and  all  of 
the  minor  officials  ceased  to  perform  their  functions 
in  harmony  with  Roman  law  and  procedure.  In 
other  words,  that  particular  portion  of  the  empire 
ceased  to  be  an  integral  part  of  the  Roman  world 
so  far  as  its  laws  and  customs  are  concerned. 

The  next  important  thing  to  discover  is  what  par- 
ticular part  of  the  empire  is  affected  and  the  means 
which  brought  about  the  baneful  calamities.  "Lo- 
custs" came  forth  "out  of  the  smoke."  These  con- 
stitute the  scourge  that  inflicted  the  misery  which 
mankind  experienced  during  the  sounding  of  the 
fifth  angel.  It  was  during  the  time  when  there  was 
a  general  deterioration  of  the  Roman  Empire,  and 
its  ancient  glories  were  being  obscured,  that  these 
"locusts  came  forth."  There  was  given  to  them 
power  as  of  "scorpions."  Smith,  in  his  "Dictionary 
of  the  Bible,"  says  that  in  hot  climates  the  sting  of 
the  scorpion  "often  occasions  much  suffering,  and 
sometimes  alarming  symptoms."  For  this  reason 
the  term  "scorpion"  is  used  as  a  symbol  denoting 
any  scourgfingf  or  calamity  that  produces  intense  suf- 
fering.    Rehoboam  said  to  his  people:  "My  father 

157 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

chastised  you  with  whips,  but  I  will  chastise  you 
with  scorpions"  (1  Kings  12:11).  These  "locusts" 
have  the  same  power  as  scorpions,  and  will  inflict 
much  suffering  and  misery  upon  mankind.  This  is 
plainly  indicated  by  verse  6:  "And  in  those  days 
shall  men  seek  death,  and  shall  in  no  wise  find  it; 
and  they  shall  desire  to  die,  and  death  fleeth  from 
them."  The  woe  of  this  period  is  extreme  indeed. 
So  bitter  are  the  conditions  that  prevail  that  even 
death  seems  preferable  to  life. 

The  ravages  of  these  "locusts"  were  limited, 
however.  "And  it  was  said  unto  them  that  they 
should  not  hurt  the  grass  of  the  earth,  neither  any 
green  thing,  neither  any  tree,  but  only  such  men  as 
have  not  the  seal  of  God  on  their  foreheads"  (v.  4). 
The  locust  is  a  destroyer  of  vegetation,  but  these 
"locusts"  will  inflict  their  ravages  on  men.  They 
are  further  limited  in  their  destructiveness.  "And 
it  was  given  them  that  they  should  not  kill  them,  but 
that  they  should  be  tormented  five  months"  (v.  5). 
These  "locusts"  were  not  given  to  ruthless  and 
wholesale  slaughter,  but  they  brought  about  almost 
unbearable  conditions  in  society,  such  as  could  be 
likened  to  the  misery  produced  by  a  scorpion's  sting. 

The  apostle  clearly  indicates  that  these  "locusts" 
are  not  to  be  understood  in  the  literal  sense  of  the 
term.  As  he  proceeds  to  describe  them,  we  find 
that  they  are  both  bestial  and  human.  "And  the 
shapes  of  the  locusts  were  like  unto  horses  prepared 
for  war ;  and  upon  their  heads  as  it  were  crowns  like 
unto  gold,  and  their  faces  were  as  men's  faces.  And 
they  had  hair  as  the  hair  of  women,  and  their  teeth 

158 


THE    THREE    WOE    ANGELS 

were  as  teeth  of  lions"  (vs.  7,  8).  Here  we  find  a 
partial  reason  for  the  symbol  of  "locusts."  They 
travel  in  swarms  of  untold  numbers,  leaving  destruc- 
tion in  their  wake.  These  "locusts"  are  great  troops 
of  horses  and  men,  armies  of  cavalry  inflicting 
misery  upon  mankind.  The  men  are  particularly  de- 
scribed. Their  head  apparel  is  a  yellow  turban,  pre- 
senting the  appearance  of  a  crown  of  gold.  They 
wear  their  hair  long.  It  falls  upon  their  shoulders 
as  the  hair  of  a  woman.  Their  "teeth,"  like  those 
of  Hons,  denote  their  ferocity.  These  cavalrymen 
wear  armor.  "And  they  had  breastplates,  as  it  were 
breastplates  of  iron"  (v,  9). 

All  of  the  symbols  used  in  this  description  point 
unerringly  to  the  particular  locality  from  which  this 
scourge  is  to  appear.  The  native  habitat  of  the 
locust  is  Arabia.  When  the  plague  of  locusts  was 
visited  upon  Egypt  they  came  upon  a  strong  east 
wind  from  the  Sinaitic  deserts,  and  they  came  in 
such  numbers  that  the  earth  was  darkened  (Ex.  10: 
13,  14).  M.  Olivier,  a  traveler,  gives  testimony  as 
to  the  home  of  the  locust.  He  says:  "With  the 
burning  south  winds  there  come  from  the  interior  of 
Arabia  and  from  the  southern  parts  of  Persia  clouds 
of  locusts,  whose  ravages  to  these  countries  are  as 
grievous  and  nearly  as  sudden  as  those  of  the  heav- 
iest hail  of  Europe."  The  scorpion  is  a  native  of 
Arabia  and  the  deserts  of  Sinai.  The  Arabians  are 
horsemen.  The  turban  worn  upon  the  head  is  char- 
acteristic of  Arabians  and  Eastern  peoples.  Unlike 
other  soldiers,  the  Arabian  horsemen  wore  their  hair 
long.      In    "Antar,"    written    at   the   very   time   the 

159 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

prophet  is  speaking  of,  we  find  special  reference  to 
this  characteristic:  "He  adjusted  himself  properly, 
twirled  his  whiskers,  and  folded  his  hair  under  his 
turban,  drawing  it  from  off  his  shoulders."  The 
Arabian  horsemen  wore  armor.  From  Sale's 
"Koran,"  we  take  this  sentence:  "God  hath  given 
you  coats  of  mail  to  defend  you  in  your  wars." 

The  apostle  could  not  have  given  a  clearer  descrip- 
tion in  literal  terms  than  he  has  given  here  of  the 
Mohammedan  scourge  which  was  visited  on  mankind. 
Mohammed  was  a  member  of  the  most  illustrious 
family  of  a  tribe  to  whom  the  care  of  the  ancient 
temple  of  Mecca  was  committed.  At  the  time  of 
his  birth  his  grandfather  was  the  ruler  of  Mecca. 
In  the  course  of  natural  events  Mohammed  would 
succeed  to  the  office.  Shortly  after  his  birth  his 
father  died  and  another  family  usurped  the  office 
of  governorship,  and  Mohammed  lost  the  place  of 
power  and  authority  that  rightfully  belonged  to  him. 
He  was  a  "fallen  star,"  and  engaged  for  a  time  in 
the  ordinary  pursuits  of  commerce.  It  was  not  until 
609  A.  D.  that  Mohammed  declared  himself  to  be 
the  prophet  of  God,  but  previous  to  this  it  had  been 
his  custom  to  withdraw  to  the  solitude  of  the  cave 
of  Hera,  one  month  each  year,  for  religious  medita- 
tion. It  was  then  that  he  began  to  release  the  smoke 
of  the  abyss.  Gibbon,  speaking  of  the  religious  con- 
dition of  the  time,  says: 

"The  Christians  of  the  seventh  century  had  insensibly- 
relapsed  into  a  semblance  of  paganism :  their  public  and  pri- 
vate vows  were  addressed  to  the  relics  and  images  that  dis- 
graced the  temples  of  the  East:  the  throne  of  the  Almighty 

160 


THE    THREE    WOE    ANGELS 

was  darkened  by  a  cloud  of  martyrs,  and  saints,  and  angels, 
the  objects  of  popular  veneration." — Decline  and  Fall  of  the 
Roman  Empire,  Vol.  IV.,  p.  341. 

Now,  the  darkness  was  intensified  by  the  devel- 
opment of  a  religion  that  was  devilish  in  its  origin. 
Three  years  were  silently  employed  in  making  four- 
teen converts  to  his  cause,  and  in  612  A.  D.  he  as- 
sumed the  prophetic  office  and  the  "locusts"  begin  to 
come  forth.  The  next  important  date  in  the  devel- 
opment of  this  false  religion  is  622  A.  D.  On  July 
16  of  this  year,  Mohammed  fled  from  Mecca,  and  it 
marks  the  beginning  of  the  Mohammedan  calendar. 
He  found  asylum  in  Medina.  The  citizens  of 
Medina  received  these  religious  outcasts  and  accepted 
their  religion.  The  "fallen  star"  who  had  been 
despoiled  and  banished  by  his  countrymen  was  now, 
by  the  choice  of  an  independent  people,  exalted  to 
"the  rank  of  a  sovereign  and  invested  with  the  pre- 
rogative of  forming  alliances,  and  of  waging  offen- 
sive and  defensive  war."  He  now  announces  that  he 
has  been  commanded  to  propagate  his  religion  by  the 
sword.     The  "locusts"  now  begin  their  ravages. 

As  the  prophet  had  foretold,  Mohammed  gave 
the  following  commands,  as  recorded  by  Gibbon: 

"Destroy  no  palm-trees,  nor  bum  any  fields  of  corn.  Cut 
down  no  fruit  trees,  nor  do  any  mischief  to  cattle,  only  such 
as  you  kill  and  eat.  As  you  go  on,  you  will  find  some  relig- 
ious persons  who  live  retired  in  monasteries,  and  propose 
Uo  themselves  to  serve  God  in  that  way;  let  them  alone,  and 
neither  kill  them  nor  destroy  their  monasteries." — Decline 
and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,  Vol.  IV.,  p.  417. 

Thus  the  unbelieving  historian  has  confirmed  the 

11  161 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

exact  fulfillment  of  John's  prophecy  which  predicted 
that  "they  should  not  hurt  the  grass  of  the  earth, 
neither  any  green  thing,  neither  any  tree,  but  only 
such  men  as  have  not  the  seal  of  God  in  their  fore- 
heads" (v.  4).  In  regard  to  their  dealings  with  all 
others  than  those  above  specified  as  "religious  per- 
sons," Mohammed  commanded: 

"And  you  will  find  another  sort  of  people,  that  belong  to 
the  synagogue  of  Satan,  who  have  shaven  crowns ;  be  sure 
to  cleave  their  skulls,  and  give  them  no  quarter  till  they 
either  turn  Mohametans  or  pay  tribute"  (same  page,  above 
volume). 

Thus  prophecy  continues  to  become  history.  All 
who  did  not  "have  the  seal  of  God  in  their  fore- 
heads" were  "hurt,"  "tormented."  The  "Christian 
dogs"  were  given  their  option:  the  Koran,  the  trib- 
ute or  the  sword.  The  Moslem  army  captured 
Damascus  in  634  A.  D.,  and  became  masters  of 
Syria  by  vanquishing  the  Roman  army  at  the  battle 
of  Yermouk  in  636  A.  D.  One  year  later  they  cap- 
tured Jerusalem,  and  the  "abomination  of  desola- 
tion," spoken  of  by  the  prophet  Daniel,  was  estab- 
lished in  the  holy  place. 

Rapidly  do  they  sweep  across  Egypt,  Persia  and 
northern  Africa,  and  in  710  A.  D.  they  enter  Spain 
and  pass  on  into  Gaul  with  the  intention  of  Joining 
a  second  Moslem  army  that  had  been  expected  to 
conquer  Constantinople  and  move  across  southern 
Europe.  At  the  battle  of  Tours  the  hitherto  uni- 
versal success  of  the  Moslems  came  to  an  end.  In 
732  A.  D.  the  army  of  Charles  Martel  administered 
to  tiiem  a  crushing  defeat,  and  their  hopes  of  enter- 

162 


THE    THREE    WOE    ANGELS 

ing  Rome  vanished  forever.  In  a  few  years  they 
v/ere  expelled  from  Europe,  and  the  ancient  capital 
of  the  empire  that  had  suffered  from  the  calamities 
under  the  first  four  trumpets  was  spared  the  woes 
of  the  fifth  trumpet.  Divisions  arose  among  caliphs, 
and  the  Saracen  empire  was  weakened.  In  762  A. 
D.  their  capital  was  established  in  Bagdad,  and  in 
782  A.  D.,  under  the  reign  of  Haroun  Al  Raschid, 
the  dream  of  a  universal  Mohammedan  empire  was 
given  up  and  their  "tormenting"  ceased.  They  were 
to  "torment"  mankind  for  "five  months."  Five 
months  equals  one  hundred  and  fifty  days,  which  de- 
note one  hundred  and  fifty  years.  From  612  A.  D., 
the  date  of  the  assumption  of  the  prophetic  office,  to 
762  A.  D.,  the  date  of  the  establishment  of  the  capi- 
tal at  Bagdad,  is  exactly  one  hundred  and  fifty  years. 
From  the  beginning  of  the  Syrian  invasion  in  632 
A.  D.  to  the  final  end  of  their  ravages  in  782  A.  D. 
is  exactly  one  hundred  and  fifty  years.  Thus  history 
verifies  the  statements  of  the  seer  of  Patmos,  and 
establishes  the  fact  that  the  Bible  is  the  word  of 
God.  The  secular  historians  find  a  problem  in  the 
fact  of  the  extraordinary  power  of  the  Saracens 
and  the  sudden  cessation  of  hostilities  that  defies 
their  solution.    Hallam  says: 

"These  conquests,  which  astonish  the  careless  and  super- 
ficial, are  less  perplexing  to  the  candid  inquirer  than  their 
cessation — the  loss  of  half  the  Roman  Empire  than  the  pres- 
ervation of  the  rest." — Middle  Ages,  Vol.  II.,  p.  169. 

Gibbon  says: 

"The  calm  historian,  who  strives  to  follow  the  rapid 
course  of  the  Saracens,  must  study  to  explain  by  what  means 

163 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

the  church  and  the  state  v/ere  saved  from  this  impending, 
and,  as  it  would  seem,  inevitable  danger." 

The  student  of  the  Apocalypse,  written  six  hun- 
dred years  before  the  events  occurred,  finds  no  dif- 
ficulty in  finding  a  satisfactory  solution.  Although 
in  the  year  732  A.  D.  the  Saracens  held  sway  over 
the  greatest  empire  on  earth,  extending  from  India 
to  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  and  from  a  human  point  of 
view  had  the  military  ability  to  sweep  over  and 
torment  southern  Europe,  Jehovah  was  mightier  than 
they.  He  had  already  described  the  limits  of  their 
conquest,  and  though  "the  heavens  and  the  earth 
pass  away,"  the  statements  of  the  Scripture  must  all 
be  fulfilled.     God's  word  will  not  fail. 

The  dominating  spirit  of  the 
The  Second  Woe:       ^^^^     ^^^     ^^^     ^     ^^^^^^     ^^^^j^ 

ev.  9. 13-21  known  as  Apollyon,  who  emerged 

from  the  abyss  after  it  had  been  opened  by  Moham- 
med (Rev.  9:11).  The  succeeding  woe  that  is 
visited  upon  mankind  will  come  from  a  different 
source,  and  be  directed  by  a  different  kind  of  intel- 
ligences : 

"And  the  sixth  angel  sounded,  and  I  heard  a  voice  from 
the  horns  of  the  golden  altar  which  is  before  God,  one  say- 
ing to  the  sixth  angel  that  had  the  trumpet.  Loose  the  four 
angels  that  are  bound  at  the  great  river  Euphrates.  And  the 
four  angels  were  loosed,  that  had  been  prepared  for  the  hour 
and  day  and  month  and  year,  that  they  should  kill  the  third 
part  of  men"  (vs.  13-15). 

This  calamity  is  to  occur  after  the  Saracen  inva- 
sion, for  the  apostle  says:  "The  first  Woe  is  past: 
behold,  there  come  yet  two  Woes  hereafter"  (v.  12). 

164 


THE    THREE    WOE    ANGELS 

This  g'ives  us  the  approximate  time  of  the  events. 
They  will  occur  at  sometime  after  782  A.  D.  It  will 
be  a  scourge  visited  upon  one  of  the  three  divisions  of 
the  Roman  Empire,  for  the  angels  were  loosed  "that 
they  should  kill  the  third  part  of  men."  The  western 
part  of  the  empire  had  been  overthrown  by  the 
northern  barbarians  (476  A.  D.),  under  the  first 
four  trumpets.  The  eastern  part  of  the  empire  had 
fallen  beneath  the  swarms  of  Mohammedan  locusts 
(632-782  A.  D.).  There  remained,  therefore,  only 
the  central  division  of  the  empire  with  Constan- 
tinople as  its  capital,  to  be  overthrown.  It  is  in  this 
region  that  we  must  look  for  the  fulfillment  o,f  the 
details  of  the  prophecy. 

The  agency  of  destruction  consists  of  "four 
angels  bound  at  the  river  Euphrates."  We  speak  of 
Missouri  being  bounded  on  the  east  by  the  Missis- 
sippi, and  find  no  difficulty  in  understanding  all  that 
is  implied  by  the  expression.  The  laws  of  the  State 
do  not  apply  to  territory  any  further  east.  The 
officers  of  the  State  have  no  authority  farther  east. 
They  are  bound  or  limited  by  the  river.  So  in  the 
case  of  these  four  angels ;  their  authority  was  bound 
by  the  river  Euphrates.  That  was  the  western  limit  of 
their  territory  before  the  sixth  angel  sounded  his 
trumpet.  Then  they  were  "loosed."  The  Euphrates 
was  no  longer  their  boundary.  They  passed  over  it 
toward  the  west.  These  four  angels  are  connected 
with  armies,  for  in  the  sixteenth  verse  we  find  that 
"the  number  of  the  horsemen  was  twice  ten  thou- 
sand times  ten  thousand" ;  in  other  words,  "tv/o 
myriads    of    myriads."      This    does    not    signify    a 

165 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

definite  number  of  horsemen,  but  rather  a  great  host. 
In  the  fifty-fourth  chapter  of  the  "Decline  and 
Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,"  Gibbon  describes  the 
nation  that  inhabited  this  eastern  region.  At  this 
time  a  Turkish  Empire  had  developed  in  central 
Asia.  The  unity  of  this  empire  expired  with  Malek 
Shah.  Following  his  death  it  was  divided  into  four 
parts  or  dynasties:  Persian,  and  those  of  Kerman, 
Syria  and  Roum.  During  the  last  period  these 
Turkish  people  had  accepted  the  Mohammedan 
religion,  but  were  not  subject  to  Saracen  rule.  Of 
the  circumstances  of  the  loosing  we  find  the  follow- 
ing record  in  history: 

"The  two  armies  expected  the  signal  [referring  to  civil 
contentions],  when  the  caliph,  forgetful  of  the  majesty  that 
secluded  him  from  vulgar  eyes,  interposed  his  venerable 
mediation.  'Instead  of  shedding  the  blood  of  your  brethren, 
your  brethren  both  in  descent  and  faith,  unite  your  forces  in 
a  holy  war  against  the  Greeks,  the  enemies  of  God  and  his 
apostles.'  They  listened  to  his  voice ;  the  sultan  embraced 
his  rebellious  kinsmen,  and  the  eldest,  the  valiant  Soliman, 
accepted  the  royal  standard,  which  gave  him  conquest  and 
hereditary  command  of  the  Roman  Empire,  from  Erzeroum 
to  Constantinople,  and  the  unknown  regions  of  the  West. 
Accompanied  by  his  four  brothers,  he  passed  the  Euphrates: 
the  Turkish  camp  was  soon  seated  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Kutaieh  in  Phrygia ;  and  his  flying  cavalry  laid  waste  the 
country  as  far  as  the  Hellespont  and  the  Black  Sea." — De- 
cline and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,  Vol.  IV.,  p.  719. 

John  says  that  there  were  four  angels.  History 
says  there  were  four  diz/isions  of  the  Turkish 
Empire.  John  says  that  the  four  angels  bound 
at   the   Euphrates   were   loosed ;   that   is,   that   they 

166 


THE    THREE    WOE    ANGELS 

were  no  longer  confined  by  the  river.  History 
says  they  passed  the  Euphrates.  John  says  that 
they  were  armies  of  horsemen.  History  says  flying 
cavalry.  A  further  quotation  will  emphasize  the 
accuracy  of  the  fulfillment.  John  says  that  the 
number  of  horsemen  was  two  myriads  of  myriads. 
Gibbon  says: 

"The  myriads  of  Turkish  horse  overspread  a  frontier  of 
six  hundred  miles,  from  Tauris  to  Erzeroum,  and  the  blood 
of  six  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  Christians  was  a  grateful 
sacrifice  to  the  Arabian  prophet." — Idem,  Vol.  IV.,  p.  707. 

Before  we  pass  to  the  symbolism  that  follows, 
attention  must  be  called  to  the  voice  that  commanded 
the  angel  with  the  trumpet  to  loose  the  four  angels 
that  were  bound.  The  voice  came  from  "the  horns 
of  the  golden  altar  which  is  before  God"  (v.  13). 
This  is  the  heavenly  antitype  of  the  altar  of  incense 
that  stood  before  the  ark  of  the  covenant  in  the 
Jewish  tabernacle,  for  it  stood  "before  God."  It 
was  not  the  altar  of  burnt-offering,  for  that  stood 
in  the  outer  court.  The  significance  of  the  voice 
issuing  from  the  altar  is  that  it  had  been  violated 
or  profaned.  Jehovah  said  to  Cain:  "The  voice 
of  thy  brother's  blood  crieth  unto  me  from  the 
ground"  (Gen.  4:  10).  The  voice  cried  out  to  God 
for  the  punishment  of  the  murderer  from  the  spot 
where  Abel's  blood  had  been  shed.  See,  also,  Gen. 
31:38;  Isa.  66:6]  Hab.  2:11;  Jas.  5:4.  In  the 
service  for  atonement  for  sins,  the  horns  of  the 
altar  were  sprinkled  with  blood,  but  in  the  spiritual 
antitype  this  had  been  neglected.  The  church  had 
drifted  far  from*  the  simple  ordinances  and  services 

167 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

of  New  Testament  times,  and  had  substituted  pagan 
rites  and  ceremonies.  The  voice  calls  from  the 
altar,  therefore,  for  judgment  upon  apostate  Chris- 
tianity for  their  abandonment  of  Christ  as  the 
only  intercessor.  They  had  begun  to  ask  Mary 
and  the  saints  to  intercede.  They  had  begun  the 
"worship  of  demons,  and  the  idols  of  gold,  and 
of  silver,  and  of  brass,  and  of  stone,  and  of  wood" 
(v.  20).  The  purpose  of  this  woe  is  that  it  should 
be  a  judgment  visited  upon  apostate  Christendom. 
It  is  significant,  therefore,  that  the  historian  records 
in  one  sentence  that  "the  blood  of  six  hundred  and 
thirty  thousand  Christians  was  a  grateful  sacrifice 
to  the  Arabian  prophet." 

The  horses  and  their  riders  are  particularly 
described.  The  riders  wore  breastplates  that  looked 
like  "fire  and  hyacinth  and  brimstone."  The  color 
of  the  breastplates  is  referred  to.  It  would  be  red, 
blue  and  yellow.  Daubuz  says :  "From  their  first 
appearance,  the  Ottomans  have  aflFected  to  wear 
warlike  apparel  of  scarlet,  blue  and  yellow.''  This 
establishes  the  fact  that  the  Turks  are  the  horsemen 
referred  to  in  this  "Woe."  The  particular  charac- 
teristic of  the  horses  is  that  from  their  mouths 
there  appeared  to  come  "fire  and  smoke  and  brim- 
stone," and  "by  these  three  plagues  was  the  third 
part  of  men  killed"  (vs.  17,  18).  These  were  the 
destructive  agents  by  which  the  central  division  of 
the  Roman  Empire  was  to  be  overthrown,  and  they 
seemed  to  issue  from  the  mouths  of  the  horses.  It 
will  be  noticed,  also,  that  this  is  the  first  time  these 
appear  as  agents  of  destruction.     The  vision  which 

168 


THE    THREE    WOE    ANGELS 

John  saw  was  one  of  myriads  of  cavalry  approach- 
ing to  the  attack.  It  seemed  that  as  fire  and  smoke 
and  brimstone  issued  from  the  region  of  the  horses' 
mouths,  men  fell  dead  as  if  killed  by  the  fire,  smoke 
and  brimstone.  If  the  vision  is  true,  it  could  only 
be  fulfilled  by  the  use  of  gunpowder  and  firearms. 
The  marvelous  thing  about  it  is  that  history  records 
that  in  this  Turkish  invasion  gunpowder  was  used 
for  the  first  time  in  the  world's  history.  Gibbon 
gives  us  this  testimony: 

"The  only  hope  of  salvation  for  the  Greek  Empire,  and 
the  adjacent  kingdoms,  would  have  been  some  more  powerful 
weapon,  some  discovery  in  the  art  of  war,  that  should  give 
them  a  decisive  superiority  over  their  Turkish  foes.  Such  a 
weapon  was  in  their  hands:  such  a  discovery  had  been  made 
in  the  critical  moment  of  their  fate.  The  chemists  of  China 
and  Europe  had  found;  by  casual  or  elaborate  experiments, 
that  a  mixture  of  saltpeter,  sulphur  and  charcoal  produces, 
with  a  spark  of  fire,  a  tremendous  explosion." — Decline  and 
Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,  Vol.  V.,  p.  337. 

The  Turks  had  "such  a  weapon  in  their  hands," 
and  the  unbelieving  historian  is  compelled  to  con- 
firm the  accurate  fulfillment  of  John's  vision, 
although  twelve  centuries  had  intervened.  But  the 
term  "horses"  must  not  be  taken  altogether  in  a 
literal  sense  in  the  vision.  As  a  symbolical  term, 
it  denotes  wars,  strifes  and  struggles  between  con- 
tending armies,  as  under  the  first  four  seals.  It  is 
in  this  sense  that  it  is  used  when  it  is  said:  "The 
power  of  the  horses  is  in  their  mouth,  and  in  their 
tails"  (v.  19).  The  destructive  power  of  these 
Turkish  myriads  was  due  to  the  use  of  gunpowder, 
and  the  fire,  smoke  and  brimstone  seemed  to  issue 

169 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

from  the  mouths  of  the  horses  that  were  used  in 
battle.  The  "tails"  are  such  that  they  do  not  have 
a  literal  sense.  They  are  "like  unto  serpents,  and 
have  heads"  (v.  19).  We  speak  of  the  "head  of 
the  house,"  and  have  no  difficulty  in  understanding 
what  is  implied.  The  "head"  is  the  one  in  authority 
— the  leader.  While  ordinarily  the  "tail"  would 
denote  that  which  is  humble  and  lowly  and  the 
very  opposite  of  authority,  yet  among  the  Turks, 
even  to  this  day,  the  "horse-tail"  is  a  symbol  of 
power  and  authority.  The  relative  dignity  and 
importance  of  a  Turkish  pasha  are  distinctively 
marked  by  the  ensign  of  one  or  more  tails.  The 
Turkish  victories  were,  then,  to  be  due  to  the  use 
of  gunpowder  and  to  their  effective  leadership. 
Gibbon  singles  out  Alp  Arslan  as  the  "greatest 
prince  of  his  time."  Commenting  further  on  this 
subject,  he  says: 

"The  same  destructive  secret  had  been  revealed  to  the 
Moslems,  by  whom  it  was  employed  with  superior  energy, 
zeal,  riches  and  despotism.  The  great  cannon  of  Mohammed 
has  been  separately  noticed — an  important  and  visible  object 
in  the  history  of  the  times.  From  the  lines,  the  galleys  and 
the  bridge,  the  Ottoman  artillery  thundered  from  all  sides ; 
and  the  camp  and  the  city,  the  Greeks  and  the  Turks,  were 
involved  in  a  cloud  of  smoke  which  could  only  be  dispelled 
in  the  final  deliverance  or  destruction  of  the  Roman  Empire" 
(same  chapter  as  above). 

One  other  detail  of  this  Turkish  "Woe"  must 
be  especially  noticed.  The  prophet  gives  the  time 
limits  of  it.  It  is  to  continue  for  an  "hour  and 
day  and  month  and  year"  (v.  15).  The  word  trans- 
lated "year"  is  not  the  one  that  signifies  360  days, 

170 


THE    THREE    WOE    ANGELS 

but,  rather,  365  days.  Then,  counting  a  day  for 
a  year,  we  have  365  years,  plus  30  years,  plus  1 
year,  plus  a  small  fraction  of  a  year,  or  396  years 
and  a  fraction.  History  corresponds  exactly  by  say- 
ing that  "the  Turks  went  forth  on  their  career  of 
western  conquest,  January  18,  1057,  and  Constanti- 
nople fell  into  their  hands  May  29,  1453,  and  the 
last  of  the  Caesars  lays  buried  under  a  mountain  of 
slain."  This  is  396  years  and  130  days.  Truly  not 
a  "jot  or  tittle"  has  been  unfulfilled. 

The  last  vestige  of  that  once  magnificent  empire 
of  the  Caesars  has  passed  into  other  hands,  the 
proud  city  of  Constantine  having  succumbed  to 
the  Turkish  "Woe"  in  1453  A.  D.  It  must  be 
remembered  that  this  "Woe"  descended  upon  this 
division  because  the  "golden  altar"  had  been  violated, 
or  because  of  apostasy.  Although  churches  and  tem- 
ples were  turned  into  Mohammedan  mosques  follow- 
ing the  downfall  of  the  empire,  the  rest  of  the 
world  did  not  heed  the  judgments  visited  upon 
this  division,  but  continued  in  their  apostasy.  Verses 
20  and  21  describe  the  character  of  the  idolatry 
and  worship  practiced  at  the  time  by  "the  rest  of 
mankind."  "The  rest  of  mankind"  refers  to  the 
inhabitants  of  what  was  once  the  western  division 
of  the  empire,  with  Rome  as  its  capital,  for  the 
eastern  division  had  long  since  fallen  under  the 
sway  of  Mohammedanism.  In  this  western  division 
the  Papacy  had  been  developing  for  about  eight 
centuries.  During  the  period  of  Turkish  conquest 
it  reached  the  zenith  of  its  development.  The  Pope 
had  assumed  superior  authority  to  all  earthly  mon- 

171 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

archs.  He  crowned  and  uncrowned  kings.  He 
assumed  to  be  vicar  of  Christ.  He  exalted  "himself 
against  all  that  is  called  God  or  that  is  worshipped, 
so  that  he  sitteth  in  the  temple  of  God,  setting  him- 
self forth  as  God"  (2  Thess.  2:4).  He  presumed 
to  set  aside  the  teaching  of  Christ  and  the  apostles, 
and  imposed  pagan  idolatries  and  sorceries  upon 
the  consciences  of  men.  The  calm  historian  will 
confirm  every  detail  given  by  the  seer  of  Patmos. 

"The  first  introduction  of  symbolic  worship  was  in  the 
veneration  of  the  cross  and  its  relics.  The  saints  and  mar- 
tyrs, whose  intercession  was  implored,  were  seated  on  the 
right  hand  of  God ;  but  the  gracious  and  often  supernatural 
favors  which,  in  the  popular  belief,  were  showered  round 
their  tomb,  conveyed  an  unquestionable  sanction  of  the  de- 
vout pilgrims,  who  visited,  and  touched,  and  kissed,  these 
lifeless  remains,  the  memorials  of  their  merit  and  sufferings." 
— Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,  Vol.  IV.,  p.  249. 

"In  the  restoration  of  the  monks,  a  thousand  images  were 
exposed  to  the  public  veneration;  a  thousand  legends  were 
invented  of  their  sufferings  and  miracles.  .  .  .  They 
unanimously  pronounced  that  the  worship  of  images  is  agree- 
able to  Scripture  and  reason,  to  the  fathers  and  councils  of 
the  church.  ...  I  shall  only  notice  the  judgment  of  the 
bishops  on  the  comparative  merit  of  image-worship  and 
morality.  A  monk  had  concluded  a  truce  with  the  dcemon 
of  fornication,  on  condition  of  interrupting  his  daily  prayers 
to  a  picture  that  hung  in  his  cell.  His  scruples  prompted  him 
to  consult  the  abbot.  'Rather  than  abstain  from  adoring 
Christ  and  his  Mother  in  their  holy  images,  it  would  be  better 
for  you,'  replied  the  casuist^  'to  enter  every  brothel  and  visit 
every  prostitute  in  the  city'"  (same  volume,  p.  280). 

Debauchery  and  vice  of  the  most  flagrant  kinds 
were  practiced  by  many  of  these  so-called  successors 
of  Peter,  and  their  hands  drip   with  the   blood   of 

172 


THE   THREE    WOE   ANGELS 

unnumbered  thousands  of  the  saints  whose  slaughter 
they  instigated  through  the  centuries.  These  crimes 
have  always  been  characteristic  •  of  the  Papacy 
wherever  it  is  the  predominant  power.  Even  to-day 
the  bestial  corruption  of  the  friars  in  the  Philippine 
Islands  nauseated  a  civilized  world  when  it  was 
uncovered  by  the  investigation  of  the  American 
Government.  Even  in  our  own  country  the  immo- 
rality of  the  priesthood  is  uncovered  by  an  occasional 
investigation  of  the  courts.  Murder  and  violence 
by  the  Knights  of  Columbus  seem  to  be  of  frequent 
occurrence,  but  when  the  Papacy  dominated  the 
world  all  of  the  abominations  spoken  of  by  John 
were  its  prevailing  characteristics. 

It  did  not  repent  when  divine  judgment  was 
visited  upon  the  central  division  of  the  empire,  but, 
on  the  other  hand,  waxed  worse  and  worse.  In 
1481  A.  D.  the  Inquisition  was  established  in  Spain. 
In  1487  a  crusade  of  murder  was  undertaken 
against  the  Waldenses  in  Piedmont.  In  1515  Tetzel 
began  his  shameless  sale  of  indulgences  by  the 
authority  of  Pope  Leo  X.,  which  resulted  in  the 
events  symbolized  in  the  following  chapter. 


1Y8 


CHAPTER  IX. 
THE  ANGEL  WITH  THE  OPEN  BOOK 

WHILE  the  Mohammedan  locusts  and  the 
Turkish  myriads  of  cavalry  had  been  devas- 
tating the  eastern  and  central  divisions  of  the 
Roman  Empire,  the  Papacy  had  steadily  insinuated 
itself  into  all  the  affairs  of  the  western  division,  and 
at  the  time  that  Constantinople  was  overthrown  it 
had  established  itself  as  supreme  in  political  as  well 
as  spiritual  affairs.  The  kings  of  earth  submitted 
to  the  authority  of  the  blasphemous  monarch  of 
the  Tiber,  and  they  trembled  at  his  frown.  The 
heathen  title,  "Pontifex  Maximus,"  renounced  by 
the  emperor  of  Rome  in  375  A.  D.,  was  now 
assumed  by  the  occupants  of  the  Papal  throne. 
During  that  period  just  preceding  the  Middle  Ages, 
when  darkness  settled  down  over  the  world  like 
an  impenetrable  pall,  it  was  easy  for  the  develop- 
ment of  an  institution  of  this  kind.  When  pag^anism 
was  overthrown  by  Constantine,  and  the  church  and 
state  came  into  close  relations,  the  opportunity  was 
furnished  for  the  development  of  apostasy.  When 
Constantine  removed  the  seat  of  government  from 
Rome  it  furnished  the  basis  for  the  fraudulent 
claims,  afterward  made  by  the  popes,  that  he  had 
abdicated  the  ancient  capital  in  their  favor.     When 

174 


THE  ANGEL  WITH  THE  OPEN  BOOK 

Rome  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  barbarians,  the 
opportunity  for  the  complete  development  of  the 
apostasy  was  ripe.  Through  the  use  of  every  art 
and  device  that  could  be  conjured  up  in  the  mind 
of  Satan  to  utilize  the  superstition  of  the  age,  the 
Papacy  usurped  political  as  well  as  spiritual  sway 
over  men.  In  666  A.  D.  the  Papacy  was  feared 
and  obeyed  throughout  the  western  division  of  the 
empire.  From  this  time  for  more  than  eight  cen- 
turies its  authority  was  unquestioned,  and  in  1515 
A.  D.,  when  Tetzel  began  the  shameless  sale  of 
indulgences,  it  had  every  characteristic  of  a  universal 
world  monarchy.  It  remained,  therefore,  for  this 
power  to  be  overthrown  before  the  kingdom  of 
Christ  could  be  established.  The  tenth  and  eleventh 
chapters  will,  then,  have  to  do  with  events  connected 
with  the  judgments  and  final  downfall  of  the  Papacy 
following   1453  A.  D. 

The  Strong  Angel  "And  I   saw  another  strong  angel 

coming  down  out  of  heaven,  arrayed 
with  a  cloud ;  and  the  rainbow  was  upon  his  head,  and  his 
face  was  as  the  sun,  and  his  feet  as  pillars  of  fire;  and  he 
had  in  his  hand  a  little  book  open :  and  he  set  his  right  foot 
upon  the  sea,  and  his  left  upon  the  earth"  (Rev.  10: 1,  2). 

The  angel  of  this  vision  is  declared  to  be  "an- 
other" angel — that  is,  he  is  not  the  sixth  angel — 
and  the  events  connected  with  the  work  of  this 
angel  have  no  connection  with  the  Turkish  "Woe" 
which  that  angel  announced.  We  must  therefore 
look  for  the  fulfillment  of  the  imagery  of  this 
vision  in  another  class  of  events.  "He  set  his  right 
foot   upon   the   sea,   and   his   left   upon   the   earth." 

175 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

The  "earth,"  or  the  Roman  Empire,  is  now  only  a 

part  of  the  scene  of  his  activity:  the  "sea,"  which 

signifies     "peoples     and     nations     and     tribes     and 

tongues,"  also  is  to  be  included.     His  work  is  that 

in    which    the    great    multitudes    of    mankind    are 

concerned. 

The    adornment   of   this    angel   is    similar    in    a 

degree  to  that  of  the  glorified  Christ.   He  is  "arrayed 

with  a  cloud;  and  the  rainbow  was  upon  his  head." 

There  was  the  sign  of  divine  promise,  quickening 

the   expiring  hope  of  mankind.     The   light  of   his 

face  will  lighten  the  world  after  the  long  period  of 

the    Dark    Ages.      He    "sets"    his    feet    upon    the 

"earth"   and   the  "sea,"   formally   taking  possession 

of  them  in  the  name  of  heaven,   from  whence  he 

came.     He   had   "in   his  hand   a   little   book   open." 

It  was  a  divine  book,  and  John  noticed  that  it  was 

"open"  as  he  descended.     Its  being  open   signified 

that  it  contained  a  message  for  mankind.    The  book 

was  delightful  food  for  mankind.    The  prophet  took 

the  book  from  the  angel's  hand,  and  "ate  it  up,"  and 

found  it  in  his  mouth  as  "sweet  as  honey"  (v.  10). 

However,    bitterness    followed    its    assimilation. 

When  the  angel  took  posses- 
Seven  Thunders  r  ^i.     «       ^i."        j  xi.     «       » 
sion  of  the    earth    and  the    sea 

by  crying  "with  a  great  voice,  as  a  lion  roareth," 
his  proclamation  was  challenged.  "Seven  thunders 
uttered  their  voices."  At  the  first  the  prophet  mis- 
took the  character  of  these  "seven  thunders," 
remembering,  no  doubt,  the  voice  of  thunder  that 
accompanied  the  giving  of  the  divine  law  on  Sinai, 
and  also  the  incident  in  Jerusalem,  when  they  had 

176 


THE  ANGEL  WITH  THE  OPEN  BOOK 

mistaken  the  voice  of  God,  speaking  to  his  Son, 
for  thunder.  He  prepared  to  write  down,  therefore, 
the  message  of  the  seven  thunders,  thinking  that 
it  was  divine.  A  voice  came  from  heaven,  saying: 
''Seal  up  the  things  which  the  seven  thunders 
uttered,  and  write  them  not"  (v.  4).  In  other 
words,  the  divinity  of  these  seven  thunders  is  but 
a  pretension,  and  their  message  is  a  base  and 
fraudulent  imposture.  We  at  once  realize  that  the 
"earth  and  the  sea"  is  to  be  the  scene  of  a  struggle 
between  the  angel  with  the  open  book,  and  the 
source  of  the  seven  thunders  which  have  been 
aroused  to  fury  by  the  appearance  and  proclamation 
of  the  heavenly  messenger.  The  events  symbolized 
here,  therefore,  have  to  do  with  this  titanic  struggle 
between  true  and  counterfeit  divinity,  and  the 
weapon  of  the  true  divinity  is  the  open  book. 

Those  who  are  familiar  with  the  events  of  the 
Protestant  Reformation  will  recognize  at  once  that 
they  fulfill  every  detail,  as  given  in  this  chapter, 
with  surprising  accuracy.  When,  in  1515  A.  D., 
license  to  commit  crime  and  to  engage  in  all  forms 
of  sin  was  being  sold  in  the  name  of  a  pretended 
religion,  the  Papacy  had  reached  the  foulest  depths 
of  its  blasphemous  depravity,  and  the  dormant  con- 
sciences of  some  of  its  own  slaves  revolted.  Rome 
never  had  a  more  zealous  devotee  than  Martin 
Luther,  who  was  ordained  to  the  priesthood  in  1507. 
Until  this  time  he  had  never  seen  a  Bible.  The 
breviary  contained  all  of  the  knowledge  of  God 
that  he  possessed  at  this  time.  He  at  once  began 
to  exercise  himself  in  all  of  the  prescribed  exercises 

12  177 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

for  the  salvation  of  his  soul,  but  found  no  peace. 
Finding  a  copy  of  the  Scriptures,  he  was  startled 
to  discover  that  the  mummeries  that  he  had  been 
engaged  in  were  no  part  of  the  plan  of  salvation, 
but  that  through  faith  in  Christ  a  penitent  soul 
attains  to  justification. 

When  Tetzel  violated  every  sense  of  decency  in 
the  name  of  the  Papacy,  Luther,  the  eloquent  young 
priest,  was  stirred,  and  he  nailed  his  ninety-five 
theses  on  the  door  of  the  church  Oct.  31,  1517. 
Ordinarily  an  act  of  this  kind  would  have  occasioned 
but  little  notice,  but  the  public  mind  was  in  such 
a  state  "that  it  kindled  a  conflagration  that  spread 
with  the  rapidity  of  lightning  from  Wittenberg  to 
the  frontiers  of  Europe."  Luther  himself  was 
astounded  at  the  mighty  commotion  that  he  had 
stirred  up,  and  found  that  he  was  at  once  the  leader 
and  spokesman  of  the  most  far-reaching  religious 
movem.ent  since  the  day  of  Pentecost.  The  angel 
had  "cried  with  a  great  voice,  as  a  lion  roareth." 
It  was  heard  in  the  Vatican.  In  1520  A.  D.,  Luther 
published  his  famous  treatise  on  "The  Babylonian 
Captivity  of  the  Church,"  in  which  the  Papacy  is 
denounced  as  the  kingdom  of  Babylon  and  antichrist, 
and  the  voice  of  the  angel  falls  on  the  ears  of 
Henry  VIII.,  who  wrote  a  "Defense  of  the  Seven 
Sacraments."  For  this  he  received  the  title  of 
"Defender  of  the  Faith,"  granted  to  him  in  October, 
1521  A.  D.,  by  Pope  Leo  X.  In  April  of  this  same 
year,  Luther  was  called  to  account  before  the  Diet 
of  Worms,  where  he  startled  that  august  assembly 
by    refusing   to    surrender    his    convictions    or    his 

178 


THE   ANGEL    WITH    THE    OPEN    BOOK 

conscience  to  any  power  on  earth.  A  historian 
describing  the  incident  says :  "With  the  imperishable 
words,  'Here  I  stand,  I  can  not  do  otherwise;  God 
help  me.  Amen,'  he  sounded  the  death-knell  of 
ecclesiastical  and  political  tyranny."  The  angel 
had  set  his  feet  on  the  "earth  and  the  sea"  and 
irrevocably  declared  that  by  right  they  belong  to 
King  Jesus,  and  should  be  v/rested  from  the  anti- 
christ, the  usurper  of  Rome.  The  great,  restless 
"sea"  of  mankind  was  stirred  to  its  remotest  depths, 
and  the  "earth"  trembled  as  the  proclamation  was 
uttered. 

Rome  began  to  thunder  forth  her  anathemas 
against  the  priest  and  his  colaborers.  The  first 
session  of  the  Council  of  Trent  (1545  A.  D.)  marks 
the  period  of  the  anti-Reformation  thunders.  The 
accuracy  of  the  prophetic  record  is  further  con- 
firmed by  the  actions  of  Luther.  John  says  that 
when  the  thunders  began  to  utter  their  voices,  he 
started  to  write  their  message,  but  was  forbidden 
by  a  voice  from  heaven.  When  Rome  began  to 
thunder  against  the  reformicrs,  Luther  acknowledged 
that  he  still  felt  that  the  Pope  was  the  vicar  of 
Christ,  and  that  these  bulls  which  he  issued  had 
divine  authority.     Here  are  his  words: 

"When  I  began  the  affair  of  the  indulgences  I  was  a 
monk  and  a  most  mad  Papist.  So  intoxicated  was  I,  and 
drenched  in  Papal  dogmas,  that  I  would  have  been  almost 
ready  to  murder,  or  to  assist  others  in  murdering,  any  per- 
son who  would  have  uttered  a  syllable  against  the  duty  of 
obedience  to  the  Pope." 

In  defense  of  his  action  in  denouncing  the  sale 

179 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

of  indulgences,  Luther  wrote  to  the  Pope  in  these 
words :  "I  will  acknowledge  thy  voice  as  the  voice 
of  Christ  speaking  in  thee."  Thus  at  the  first  the 
reformers  thought  that  the  utterances  of  the  Pope 
were  divine,  but  when,  in  Wittenberg,  the  Bull  was 
burned,  Luther  had  heard  "the  voice  from  heaven, 
saying.  Seal  up  the  things  which  the  seven  thunders 
uttered,  and  write  them  not."  He  no  longer  recog- 
nized the  utterances  of  the  Pope  as  "Christ  speaking 
in  him."  Thus  we  see  that  the  prophet  himself 
represents  the  reformers  in  the  fulfillment  of  his 
prophecy. 

Through  the  long  centuries  during  which  the 
Papacy  had  control  of  the  consciences  of  men,  the 
Bible  had  been  taken  away  from  the  people.  Here 
and  there  in  monasteries  a  few  copies  of  the  sacred 
record  had  been  hidden  away  from  the  light  of 
day,  but  none  save  the  priests  ever  dared  to  so 
much  as  touch  the  Book.  The  knowledge  of  its 
precious  truths  was  absolutely  withdrawn  from  the 
human  race.  In  its  stead  the  people  were  fed  upon 
fabricated  traditions  and  mysteries  invented  by  the 
priesthood  to  entrammel  the  intellect  and  conscience 
of  mankind.  It  has  always  been,  even  to  the  present 
time,  the  purpose  of  the  Papacy  to  keep  its  devotees 
in  ignorance  of  the  truth,  and,  by  the  threat  of 
excommunication  and  consequent  eternal  damnation, 
to  keep  them  from  reading  any  book  except  such 
as  is  permitted  by  the  authority  of  Rome.  The 
burning  of  Protestant  Bibles  by  Romish  priests  has 
occurred  in  the  twentieth  century.  No  Catholic 
can  read  a  secular  book  which  has  been  placed  upon 

180 


THE  ANGEL  WITH  THE  OPEN  BOOK 

the  Index,  on  pain  of  everlasting  torment.  When 
the  Reformation  burst  forth,  the  Bible  was  opened 
up,  and  for  the  first  time  in  centuries  the  people 
were  privileged  to  read  the  message  of  God  to  the 
world.  Tyndale's  translation  of  the  New  Testament 
came  forth  in  1526  A.  D.,  and  Luther's  translation 
of  the  Bible  was  published  in  1534  A.  D. 

With  what  rejoicing  did  these  first  reformers 
feast  upon  the  bread  of  life,  and  with  what  eager- 
ness did  they  taste  of  its  eternal  truths,  but  it  was 
followed  at  once  with  the  most  bitter  persecution. 
The  villages  everywhere  were  lighted  up  with  the 
burning  of  Bibles.  Tortures  were  inflicted  upon 
those  found  in  possession  of  them.  Ridley  and 
Latimer  were  burned  at  Oxford,  Oct.  8,  1555,  and 
Cranmer,  March  21,  1556.  No  one  knew  better 
than  the  priesthood  the  result  of  the  open  Bible  in 
the  hands  of  the  people,  because  it  pierces  as  a 
two-edged  sword  the  outrageous  shams  which  the 
Papacy  had  foisted  on  them.  So  the  hierarchy 
was  aroused  to  the  most  ferocious  defense. 

When  the  seven  thunders  had  uttered  their 
voices,  the  angel  uttered  the  proclamation  of  judg- 
ment on  the  Papacy.  He  "lifted  up  his  right  hand 
to  heaven,  and  sware  by  him  that  liveth  for  ever 
and  ever,  who  created  the  heaven  and  the  things 
that  are  therein,  and  the  earth  and  the  things  that 
are  therein,  and  the  sea  and  the  things  that  are 
therein,  that  there  shall  be  delay  no  longer:  but  in 
the  days  of  the  voice  of  the  seventh  angel,  when 
he  is  about  to  sound,  then  is  finished  the  mystery 
of   God,   according   to   the   good   tidings   which   he 

181 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

declared  to  his  servants  the  prophets"  (vs.  5-7). 
The  judgment  has  already  sat.  The  proclamation 
of  the  angel  is  the  announcement  of  the  penalty 
decided  upon,  and  the  execution  of  the  penalty 
begins  without  delay.  The  completion  of  the 
execution  of  the  penalty  pronounced  against  the 
Papacy  will  end  with  the  sounding  of  the  seventh 
trumpet.  The  time  intervening  between  the  procla- 
mation of  the  penalty  and  the  sounding  of  the  seventh 
trumpet  will  witness  the  progress  of  the  "open 
book"  and  the  death-struggles  of  the  Papal  power 
as  it  seeks  to  maintain  its  weakening  grasp  upon 
the  nations  and  peoples  of  the  world.  The  great, 
"strong  angel"  is  the  spirit  that  is  incarnate  in  the 
host  of  the  servants  of  Christ  who  have  waged  war 
against  the  Papal  power. 

Daniel  describes  this  judgment  and  confirms  the 
details  given  by  John.  The  "little  horn"  spoken  of 
by  Daniel  refers  to  the  Papacy,  as  will  be  seen  in 
a  later  chapter: 

"I  beheld  till  thrones  were  placed,  and  one  that  was  ancient 
of  days  did  sit :  his  raiment  was  white  as  snow,  and  the 
hair  of  his  head  like  pure  wool ;  his  throne  was  fiery  flames, 
and  the  wheels  thereof  burning  fire.  A  fiery  stream  issued 
and  came  forth  from  before  him:  thousands  of  thousands 
ministered  unto  him,  and  ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand 
stood  before  him :  the  judgment  was  set,  and  the  books  were 
opened.  I  beheld  at  that  time  because  of  the  voice  of  the 
great  words  which  the  horn  spake ;  I  beheld  even  till  the 
beast  was  slain,  and  its  body  destroyed,  and  it  was  given  to 
be  burned  with  fire.  And  as  for  the  rest  of  the  beasts,  their 
dominion  was  taken  away:  yet  their  lives  were  prolonged 
for  a  season  and  a  time"  (Dan.  7:9-12). 

182 


THE  ANGEL  WITH  THE  OPEN  BOOK 

The  angel  with  the  open  book  that  John  saw 
was  the  angel  which  came  forth  to  execute  the 
judgments  upon  the  Papacy  that  were  determined 
at  this  supreme  tribunal  which  Daniel  saw.  Daniel 
was  particular  to  note  the  time  of  the  event.  His 
attention  was  called  to  it  "because  of  the  great 
words  which  the  horn  spake."  It  was  a  period 
when  the  Papacy  was  most  arrogant  in  its  claims 
and  had  reached  the  zenith  of  its  power  and  corrup- 
tion. Witness  the  following  excerpt  from  the  claims 
of  one  of  the  popes: 

"All  earth  is  my  diocese,  and  I  the  ordinary  of  all  men, 
having  authority  of  King  of  kings  upon  subjects.  I  am  all 
in  all  and  above  all,  so  that  God  Himself,  and  I,  the  Vicar 
of  God,  both  have  one  consistory,  and  I  am  able  to  do  almost 
all  that  God  can  do.  In  all  things  that  I  list,  my  will  is  to 
stand  for  reason,  for  I  am  able  by  the  law  to  dispense  with 
the  law,  and  of  wrong  to  make  justice  in  correcting  laws  and 
changing  them.  Wherefore,  if  those  things  that  I  do  be  said 
not  to  be  done  of  man,  but  of  God,  what  can  you  make  me 
hut  God?  Again,  if  prelates  of  the  Church  be  called  and 
counted  by  Constantine  for  Gods,  I,  then,  being  above  all 
prelates,  seem  by  this  reason  to  be  above  all  Gods.  Where- 
fore, no  marvel  if  it  be  in  my  power  to  change  time  and 
times,  to  alter  and  abrogate  laws,  to  dispense  zvith  all  things, 
yea,  with  the  precepts  of  Christ." 

These,  truly,  are  "great  words."  They  came 
forth  from  a  pope  of  Rome.  They  are  the  identical 
claims  made  by  the  blasphemous  "horn"  of  Daniel, 
also  of  the  "man  of  sin"  described  in  the  second 
chapter  of  2  Thessalonians.  These  boastings  of  the 
popes  were  uttered  in  the  period  between  1453  A.  D. 
and  1518  A.  D.,  when  Luther  challenged  the  crimes 

183 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

of  Tetzel.  This  is,  then,  the  period  in  which  the 
tribunal  of  God  is  sitting.  Daniel  further  notices 
the  time  that  shall  elapse  from  the  date  of  the 
judgment  until  the  penalty  shall  be  completely 
executed.  He  says  "that  their  lives  were  prolonged 
for  a  season  and  a  time."  A  "time"  is  a  term  that 
signifies  a  prophetic  "year."  In  Dan.  11:13  we 
find  the  prophet  saying:  "He  shall  come  at  the  end 
of  times,  even  of  years."  In  the  twelfth  chapter 
of  Revelation  we  find  that  "time,  and  times  and 
half  a  time"  are  equal  to  1,260  days,  or  three  years 
and  a  half  (vs.  6,  14).  A  prophetic  year  signifies 
a  period  of  360  years.  A  "season"  is  the  fourth 
part  of  a  year,  which  would  signify  ninety  years. 
This  added  to  360  years  would  make  a  total  of  450 
years.  Counting  from  some  year  between  1453 
A.  D.  and  1518  A.  D.,  a  period  of  450  years  will 
run  until  "the  little  horn"  of  Daniel,  the  "man  of 
sin"  of  Paul,  and  the  Papacy  of  history  will  be 
destroyed  and  its  body  be  "burned  with  fire."  The 
work  of  the  "strong  angel"  is  to  carry  the  sentence 
into  execution.  The  latest  date  for  the  completion 
of  his  work  would  be  1968-1972  A.  D.  Hence, 
there  are  those  now  living  who  shall  witness  that 
glorious  day  that  the  enemy  of  mankind  and  of 
human  happiness  shall  cease  to  exist  forever.  The 
Papacy  has  been  the  blighting  curse  of  the  nations 
ever  since  its  rise.  It  has  poisoned  the  wellsprings 
of  religion  and  made  slaves  of  the  souls  of  men. 
Its  blighting  influence  is  felt  in  every  avenue  of  life. 
Rulers,  lawmakers,  and  men  in  places  of  power, 
are  too  often  its  subservient  tools. 

184 


THE  ANGEL  WITH  THE  OPEN  BOOK 

After  the  apostle  had  taken  the  little  book  and 
experienced  the  bitterness  that  followed,  he  received 
a  comforting  assurance :  "Thou  must  prophesy  again 
over  many  peoples  and  nations  and  tongues  and 
kings"  (v.  11).  This  bitterness,  which  signified  the 
unspeakable  persecutions  that  were  visited  upon 
Protestant  Christians  by  the  Papacy,  would  soon 
disappear,  and  the  preaching  of  the  evangelical 
gospel  from  the  open  book  would  spread  to  the 
uttermost  parts  of  the  earth.  The  bitterness  was 
fulfilled  in  the  massacre  of  the  Vaudois,  1530  A.  D. ; 
the  atrocities  of  the  Piedm.ontese  soldiers  led  by 
monks;  Saint  Bartholomew's  day  in  1572  A.  D. ; 
the  "war  of  religion"  in  Ireland  in  1641  A.  D. ;  and 
the  Huguenot  persecutions  of  the  same  period.  The 
fulfillment  of  the  "prophesying"  is  found  in  the 
bursting  forth  of  the  missionary  spirit  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  eighteenth  and  the  beginning  of  the 
nineteenth  centuries.  "Prophesying"  means  the  proc- 
lamation of  a  message,  and  the  widespread  mission- 
ary propaganda  of  the  past  century  satisfies  all  of 
the  requirements  of  the  term.  The  gospel  has  been 
carried  to  all  of  the  nations  of  the  world.  The 
Bible  has  been  made  an  open  book  by  being  printed 
in  the  languages  and  dialects  of  the  countries  where 
the  missionaries  have  gone. 

As  in  the  fourth  chapter  of  Ezekiel,  where  the 
prophet  symbolically  bears  the  iniquities  of  the  house 
of  Israel  and  then  of  the  house  of  Judah,  so  in  this 
instance,  John,  as  he  eats  the  "little  book,"  typically 
represents  mankind  during  the  Reformation  period. 
As  he  "prophesies,"  he  represents  the  reformers  and 

185 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

preachers  spreading  the  evangelical  gospel  of  the 
"little  book"  to  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth. 
The  reason  why  it  is  said  that  he  should  prophesy 
"again"  was  because  for  twelve  centuries  the  Bible 
had  been  withdrawn  from  the  people  and  they  were 
in  ignorance  of  its  teaching.  During  the  first  three 
centuries  the  primitive  preachers  had  proclaimed  the 
gospel  with  comparative  fidelity.  During  the  time 
of  the  development  and  establishment  of  the  apostasy 
it  had  been  superseded  by  counterfeit  oracles  of  the 
Papacy,  but  as  the  Reformation  developed  and  men 
were  freed  from  the  entrammeling  superstitions  of 
Rome,  it  would  again  be  proclaimed  in  the  simplicity 
of  the  former  times.  The  time  limit  of  this  chapter 
is  indicated  by  the  spread  of  the  gospel  among  the 
nations,  or  about  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth 
century. 


186 


CHAPTER  X. 

TEMPLE  MEASURED 

THE  time  limit  of  the  last  chapter  gives  the  date 
for  the  beginning  of  the  events  symbolized  in 
the  present  chapter,  or  about  the  beginning  of  the 
nineteenth  century.  The  period  described  in  the 
eleventh  chapter  will  embrace  all  of  the  events 
between  that  date  and  the  sounding  of  the  seventh 
angel  and  the  dawning  of  Zion's  glad  morning,  as 
recorded  in  verses  15  and  18,  inclusive.  The  first 
event  of  this  period  is  the  measurement  of  the 
temple : 

"And  there  was  given  me  a  reed  like  unto  a  rod :  and  one 
said,  Rise,  and  measure  the  temple  of  God,  and  the  altar,  and 
them  that  worship  therein.  And  the  court  which  is  without 
the  temple  leave  without,  and  measure  it  not ;  for  it  hath 
been  given  unto  the  nations :  and  the  holy  city  shall  they 
tread  under  foot  forty  and  two  months"  (Rev.  11 :  1,  2). 

_,     _     ,  The    standard   of   measure   is 

The  Keed  ^/        ,  ,.,  j  »      a        j 

a    reed  like  unto  a  rod.       A  rod 

is  an  instrument  of  correction  and  punishment,  and 

as  such  it  is  used  in  the  Scripture  as  the  symbol 

of   divine   authority   and   power.     This    rod    comes 

forth   from   the  mouth   of   Christ.     "And   he   shall 

smite  the  earth  with  the  rod  of  his  mouth"    (Isa. 

11:4).     It  would  represent  the  words  or  teaching 

187 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

of  Christ.  This  is  confirmed  by  many  statements 
of  the  New  Testament  where  the  teaching  of  Christ 
is  indicated  as  the  only  standard  of  measurement. 
In  Matt.  7:24-27  the  "words"  of  Christ  are  made 
the  absolute  standard  by  which  the  results  are 
determined.  Hearing  and  doing  the  "words"  of 
Christ  settles  the  fact  of  a  man  being  wise,  while 
hearing  and  doing  not  settks  the  fact  of  a  man 
being  foolish.  In  clear,  unmistakable  language  Jesus 
declares  that  his  word  is  to  be  the  standard  by 
which  the  judgment  is  to  be  determined.  "He  that 
rejecteth  me,  and  receiveth  not  my  sayings,  hath 
one  that  judgeth  him:  the  word  that  I  spake,  the 
same  shall  judge  him  in  the  last  day"  (John  12: 
48).  This  is  still  further  confirmed  by  the  fact  that 
the  reed  was  given  into  the  hands  of  an  apostle. 
In  the  notable  prayer  of  Jesus  as  recorded  in  the 
seventeenth  chapter  of  John,  he  makes  this  state- 
ment: "I  have  given  them  thy  word"  (v.  14).  The 
apostles  are  the  custodians  of  Christ's  word,  and, 
therefore,  the  New  Testament  is  the  reed,  or 
standard  of  measurement,  received  by  John  in  the 
vision  to  determine  the  divine  proportions. 

The    measuring    takes    place 
Things  Measured      ^^^^  ^j^^  beginning  of  the  nine- 

teenth  century,  and  it  will  determine  whether  the 
"temple  of  God,  and  the  altar,  and  them  that 
worship  therein"  conform  to  the  New  Testament 
standard.  The  "temple  of  God"  is  the  first  object 
to  be  measured.  This  has  no  reference  to  a  temple 
built  by  human  hands,  b-ecause  the  temple  at  Jeru- 
salem  had   been   destroyed   with   the   overthrow   of 

188 


TEMPLE    MEASURED 


Jerusalem  in  70  A.  D.  The  temple  of  the  Jews, 
and  especially  that  part  of  it  known  as  the  "Holy 
Place,"  containing  the  altar  of  incense,  the  table  of 
showbread  and  the  golden  candlesticks,  was  typical 
of  the  church  of  Christ.  This  is  confirmed  by  the 
writer  of  the  Hebrews  in  the  ninth  chapter  and 
ninth  verse.  In  writing  to  the  Corinthian  church, 
Paul  says:  "Know  ye  not  that  ye  are  the  temple  of 
God?"  (1  Cor.  3:16).  The  "temple  of  God" 
denotes  the  church.  It  is  to  be  measured  according 
to  the  apostolic  standard.  The  "altar,"  being  among 
the  articles  of  furniture  in  the  temple,  is  typical 
of  "the  ordinances  of  divine  service"  in  the  church 
of  Christ  (Heb.  9:1).  The  ordinances  of  the 
church  are  to  be  measured  at  this  time  to  determine 
whether  they  are  being  administered  as  they  were 
in  the  apostolic  period.  The  "worshippers"  denote 
those  who  are  the  professed  members  of  the  church. 
Their  teaching,  beliefs  and  practices  will  also  be 
submitted  to  an  investigation  at  this  time  to  deter- 
mine whether  they  conform  to  the  New  Testament 
standards. 

The  measurement  is  specifically  limited  to  that 
portion  of  the  temple  precincts  that  typified  the 
church  and  its  ordinances  and  its  membership.  The 
measurement  was  not  to  apply  to  that  great  class 
of  people  outside  of  professing  Christianity.  The 
reason  is  specifically  given:  "For  it  hath  been  given 
unto  the  nations."  They  are  actuated  by  different 
motives  than  are  those  within  the  church.  They 
have  not  submitted  to  the  authority  of  Christ,  but 
recognize  the  authority  of  human  governments  and 

189 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

are  molding  and  shaping  their  lives  according  to 
human  ideals,  or  those  of  the  Papacy.  These  are 
left  out,  for  it  is  apparent,  without  measurement, 
that  they  do  not  conform  to  the  divine  standard.  A 
note  of  time  is  also  given  in  connection  with  the 
measurement  by  the  statement:  "And  the  holy  city 
shall  they  tread  under  foot  forty  and  two  months" 
(v.  2).  Forty  and  two  months  of  thirty  days  each 
would  equal  1,260  days,  which  represent  1,260 
years.  During  this  period  the  nations  tread  down 
the  "holy  city."  In  the  twenty-first  chapter  we  find 
the  "holy  city"  described  as  the  new  Jerusalem  and 
as  the  tabernacle  of  God.  In  this  case,  then,  it 
refers  to  the  visible  church.  During  the  long  period 
of  1,260  years  it  had  been  trampled  under  the  foot 
of  the  nations  under  the  control  of  the  Papacy. 
During  this  period  the  church  of  Christ  did  not 
manifest  any  signs  of  existence,  and  was  seemingly 
conquered  and  devastated.  The  Papal  power,  exerted 
throug-h  the  political  governments,  effectually  con- 
trolled religious  conditions  until  the  Reformation, 
visiting  with  a  murderous  persecution  any  attempt 
to  worship  God  according  to  the  teaching  of  Christ. 
At  the  time  of  the  events  symbolized  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  eleventh  chapter,  Rome  was  losing  her 
power,  and  her  persecutions  were  no  longer  able 
to  prevent  the  rise  of  a  visible  church.  These 
details  are  fulfilled  in  the  history  of  the  period 
beginning  in  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  and 
the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  centuries.  At  that 
time  the  true  church  was  due  to  manifest  signs  of 
awakening. 

190 


TEMPLE    MEASURED 


During  the  latter  half  of  the 
The  Restoration  eighteenth  century  a  great  wave 
of  infidelity  swept  over  the  world,  due  in  a  large 
measure  to  the  condition  of  the  visible  church  of 
Christ.  The  church  was  divided  into  warring  sects. 
Creeds  had  destroyed  the  unity  of  the  church.  The 
Protestant  clergy  was  almost  as  arrogant  as  the 
priesthood  of  Rome.  They  lorded  it  over  the  pew 
and  presumed  to  shut  the  door  of  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  against  all  who  would  not  accept  some  nar- 
row, sectarian  dogmas.  The  sects  were  jealous  of 
each  other  and  were  devouring  each  other.  Pro- 
fessed followers  of  Christ  were  dissipating  their 
energies  in  defending  creeds.  The  progress  of  the 
church  was  at  a  standstill.  Men  of  intelligence  who 
had  escaped  the  shackles  of  the  Papacy  refused  to 
be  enslaved  by  the  creed-makers  of  Protestantism, 
and  there  remained  only  infidelity  for  them  to 
embrace.  At  about  the  same  time  godly  men  in 
different  parts  of  the  world  and  members  of  differ- 
ent religious  bodies,  but  with  a  common  impulse, 
began  to  investigate  the  religious  situation  to  dis- 
cover a  remedy  for  the  deplorable  conditions. 

Among  the  Methodists  James  O'Kelly  led  a 
movement  against  the  prevailing  Episcopal  form  of 
government.  The  Episcopal  devotees  were  so  strong 
that  O'Kelly  and  his  followers  were  compelled  to 
withdraw,  and  on  Christmas  Day,  1793,  at  Manakin 
Town,  North  Carolina,  a  congregation  was  estab- 
lished with  the  New  Testament  as  its  only  discipline. 
The  church  was  measured  by  the  New  Testament 
"reed."     They  called  themselves  "Christians."     The 

191 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

significant  feature  of  this  movement  of  O'Kelly  is 
the  date  upon  which  the  standards  were  applied. 
In  533  A.  D.,  Justinian,  Roman  emperor,  issued  a 
decree  constituting  the  bishop  of  Rome  "Head  of 
all  the  Holy  Churches,  and  of  all  the  Holy  Priests 
of  God."  This  marked  a  long  step  in  advance  in 
the  establishment  of  the  Papacy  and  the  treading 
down  the  church  of  Christ,  or  the  "holy  city." 
Exactly  forty-two  prophetic  months,  or  1,260  years, 
elapsed  until  1793  A.  D.,  when  the  "reed"  was  used 
to  measure  the  church. 

O'Kelly  was  not  alone  in  the  movement  to  con- 
form the  church  to  New  Testament  standards.  Dr. 
Abner  Jones,  of  the  Baptists,  established  congre- 
gations at  Lyndon,  Vermont,  and  Bradford  and 
Pierpoint,  New  Hampshire,  in  1800-1803  A.  D. 
They  would  wear  no  name  but  Christian  and  have 
no  rule  of  faith  but  the  Bible.  Barton  W.  Stone, 
of  the  Presbyterians,  established  many  congregations 
in  Kentucky  as  early  as  1804,  using  the  New  Testa- 
ment as  the  only  rule  of  guidance  for  their  faith. 
In  1807  Thomas  Campbell  came  to  America,  and 
his  son,  Alexander  Campbell,  followed  in  1809. 
This  was  the  year  in  which  that  notable  religious 
document,  "The  Declaration  and  Address,"  was 
issued.  Among  the  principles  that  were  set  forth 
in  this  epoch-making  document  the  chief  one  may 
be  stated  as  follows: 

"Rejecting  human  opinions  and  the  inventions  of  men  as 
of  authority,  or  as  having  any  place  in  the  church  of  God, 
we  might  forever  cease  from  further  contentions  about  such 
things ;  returning  to  and  holding  fast  by  the  original  stand- 

192 


TEMPLE    MEASURED 


ard;  taking  the  Divine  Word  alone  for  our  rule;  the  Holy 
Spirit  for  our  teacher  and  guide;  and  Christ,  alone,  as  ex- 
hibited in  the  Word,  for  our  salvation ;  that,  by  so  doing,  we 
may  be  at  peace  among  ourselves,  follow  peace  with  all  men, 
and  holiness,  without  which  no  man  shall  see  the  Lord." 

Thus  this  great  movement,  which  had  its  origin 
in  various  parts  of  the  world  and  in  various  divisions 
of  the  visible  church,  and  developed  through  the  use 
of  the  "reed"  or  the  New  Testament,  was  crystal- 
lized into  a  mighty  voice  whose  slogan  was,  "Where 
the  Scriptures  speak,  we  speak,  and  where  the  Scrip- 
tures are  silent,  we  are  silent."  The  church  was 
measured  by  the  New  Testament.  The  ordinances 
were  measured  by  the  same  standard.  The  Camp- 
bells were  Presbyterians  and  had  been  baptized  in 
infancy.  The  question  of  baptism  was  not  raised 
until  a  child  was  born  in  the  home  of  Alexander 
Campbell.  The  question  was  one  which  must  be 
decided  at  once.  The  father  and  son,  having  agreed 
to  conform  to  the  teaching  of  the  New  Testament 
in  all  things,  began  an  investigation  of  the  Scripture 
upon  this  subject.  To  their  surprise,  they  found 
that  a  penitent  believer  was  the  only  subject  of 
baptism,  and  that  the  act  was  performed  by  the 
candidate  being  immersed  in  water.  They  at  once 
were  baptized.  They  also  found  that  there  was  no 
precedent  for  a  "religious  experience"  as  a  requisite 
for  baptism,  but  only  the  declaration  of  faith  from 
the  heart  in  Christ.  The  question  of  the  Lord's 
Supper  had  already  been  settled  by  the  New  Testa- 
ment "reed,"  and  the  table  was  spread  every  first 
day  of  the  week  according  to  the  practice  of  the 

18  193 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

apostolic  church.  Thus  this  mighty  Restoration 
movement,  holding  aloft  the  New  Testament  as  its 
only  rule  of  faith,  religious  practice  and  Christian 
living,  fulfills  even  the  minutest  details  of  the  meas- 
urement of  the  *'temple  of  God,  and  the  altar,  and 
them  that  worship  therein." 

The  Two  Wit-  "And  I  will  give  unto  my  two  wit- 

nesses, and  they  shall  prophesy  a  thou- 
sand two  hundred  and  threescore  days, 
clothed  in  sackcloth.    These  are  the  two  olive  trees  and  the 
two  candlesticks,   standing  before  the  Lord  of   the   earth" 
(Rev.  11:3,  4). 

During  the  same  period  of  1,260  prophetic  days, 
or  1,260  years,  Christ's  two  witnesses  prophesy 
"clothed  in  sackcloth."  Sackcloth  is  the  garb  of 
afBiction,  and  testifies  to  the  mistreatment  of  the 
two  witnesses  and  their  desolation  during  that 
period.  They  are  also  symbolized  as  "two  olive 
trees"  and  as  two  "candlesticks."  As  witnesses  they 
are  to  testify,  as  olive-trees  they  supply  oil  for  light 
and  heat,  and  as  candlesticks  they  give  light.  The 
Scriptures  explain  these  terms  so  that  there  will  be 
no  difficulty  in  understanding  their  meaning,  because 
there  are  three  different  and  independent  symbols 
meaning  the  same  thing. 

As  witnesses  they  "prophesy."  In  the  Scriptural 
sense,  a  prophet  is  one  who  speaks  for  another,  as 
in  Ex.  4:  15,  16:  "And  thou  shalt  speak  unto  him, 
and  put  words  in  his  mouth:  .  .  .  And  he  shall  be 
thy  spokesman  unto  the  people."  Here  Aaron  is 
called  the  spokesman  of  Moses.  In  Ex.  7:1  we 
find  that  he  is  called  the  prophet  of  Moses:  "See,  I 

lfl4 


TEMPLE    MEASURED 


have  made  thee  as  God  to  Pharaoh;  and  Aaron  thy 
brother  shall  be  thy  prophet."  Moses  was  to  stand 
in  the  same  relation  to  Pharaoh  that  God  does  to 
the  world.  Moses  gave  the  message  to  Aaron  and 
he  in  turn  declared  it  unto  Pharaoh.  Aaron  was 
the  mouthpiece  or  prophet  of  Moses.  These  two 
witnesses  are  therefore  two  independent  agencies  by 
which  the  will  of  God  is  made  known  to  men.  A 
moment's  reflection  will  convince  any  one  that  the 
only  means  by  which  we  may  know  God's  will  is 
through  the  Old  and  the  New  Testam.ents.  The 
combined  voice  of  the  writers  of  the  Old  Testament 
constitutes  the  first  witness.  The  combined  voice 
of  the  apostles  constitutes  the  second  witness.  The 
writer  of  the  Hebrew  letter  makes  this  very  clear: 
"God,  having  of  old  time  spoken  unto  the  fathers 
in  the  prophets  by  divers  portions  and  in  divers 
manners,  hath  at  the  end  of  these  days  spoken  unto 
us  in  his  Son"  (Heb.  1:  1,  2).  Here  the  two  wit- 
nesses are  plainly  described.  In  the  "old  time"  God 
used  the  prophets  as  his  spokesmen  to  declare  his 
will  to  the  fathers,  but  there  came  an  "end  of  these 
days"  and  he  uses  a  different  mouthpiece.  He 
speaks  now  "in  his  Son,"  and  the  teaching  of  Christ 
can  be  known  to  us  only  through  what  the  apostles 
have  recorded  in  the  New  Testament.  Peter  con- 
firmed this  when  he  said:  "For  no  prophecy  ever 
came  by  the  will  of  man;  but  men  spake  from  God, 
being  moved  by  the  Holy  Spirit"  (2  Pet.  1 :  21). 

Their  character  as  "my  witnesses"  demands  that 
they  bear  testimony  to  the  one  that  was  speaking. 
Of  the  Old  Testament  Jesus  said:  "Ye  search  the 

195 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

scriptures,  because  ye  think  that  in  them  ye  have 
eternal  life;  and  these  are  they  which  bear  witness 
of  me"  (John  5:39).  Speaking  to  the  apostles 
whose  testimony  is  found  in  the  New  Testament, 
Jesus  said:  "And  ye  shall  be  my  witnesses  both  in 
Jerusalem,  and  in  all  Judaea  and  Samaria,  and  unto 
the  uttermost  part  of  the  earth"  (Acts  1:8).  If  in 
their  character  as  "olive  trees"  and  as  "candlesticks" 
they  denote  the  same  thing,  then  there  can  be  no 
question  as  to  what  these  may  be,  for  we  have  three 
witnesses  testifying  to  the  same  thing.  Speaking 
about  spiritual  Israel  under  the  figure  of  a  house, 
Jeremiah  says:  "Jehovah  called  thy  name,  A  green 
olive  tree,  fair  with  goodly  fruit"  (Jer.  11:16). 
In  Rom.  11:24  spiritual  Israel  of  the  old  dispen- 
sation is  likened  to  a  good  olive-tree,  and  spiritual 
Israel  of  the  new  dispensation  to  a  wild  olive-tree. 
But,  as  they  are  spokesmen,  they  can  speak  only 
through  the  Old  and  New  Testaments.  In  the 
fourth  chapter  of  Zechariah  we  have  a  vision  of 
two  olive-trees  supplying  oil  to  a  candlestick  with 
seven  lamps.  The  angel  explains  these  olive-trees 
as  "the  two  anointed  ones,  that  stand  by  the  Lord 
of  the  whole  earth"  (v.  14).  The  candlestick  with 
the  seven  lamps  had  only  a  local  reference  at  that 
time  to  the  temple  that  was  being  built  by  Zerub- 
babel,  but  in  the  New  Testament  it  has  a  larger 
application.  There  it  denotes  the  universal  church. 
The  light  which  the  church  radiates  is  its  message, 
which  it  receives  only  through  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments.  These  furnish  the  continuous  supply 
of  divine  knowledge  which  the  church  sheds  abroad. 

196 


TEMPLE    MEASURED 


As  "candlesticks"  these  witnesses  shed  forth  light 
themselves.  David  spoke  of  God's  word,  so  far  as 
it  had  been  revealed  in  his  day,  in  this  way:  "Thy 
word  is  a  lamp  unto  my  feet,  and  light  unto  my 
path"  (Ps.  119:105).  Jesus,  speaking  to  the  apos- 
tles, said:  "Ye  are  the  light  of  the  world."  All 
three  of  the  terms  signifying  the  same  thing,  the 
"two  witnesses"  refer  to  the  Old  and  the  New 
Testaments.  In  a  more  personal  way  these  "wit- 
nesses" represent  Daniel,  the  apocalyptic  prophet  of 
the  Old  Testament,  and  John,  the  apocalyptic 
prophet  of  the  New  Testament,  because  these  writers 
proclaim  the  judgments  that  succeed  each  other 
throughout  the  period  of  history  between  the  apos- 
tolic age  and  the  end  of  the  world.  It  is  especially 
noted  that  the  power  of  these  two  witnesses  proceeds 
from  their  mouths.  Whatever  judgments  they  have 
pronounced  will  be  visited  at  the  exact  time  and 
upon  the  identical  people  spoken  of  by  these 
prophets.  Daniel  and  John  both  speak  of  the 
spiritual  dearth  during  the  days  of  the  sway  of  the 
Papacy.  Daniel  foretells  that  the  Papacy,  under  the 
figure  of  "the  little  horn,"  shall  have  "times  and 
law  given  into  his  hand  for  a  time  and  times  and 
half  a  time,"  or  for  1,260  years.  John  foretells 
that  the  same  power  shall  tread  the  holy  city  "under 
foot  forty  and  two  months,"  or  for  1,260  years.  The 
word  which  God  has  spoken  through  these  two  wit- 
nesses must  be  fulfilled.  Thus,  when  the  Papacy 
arises,  the  spiritual  rain  from  heaven  ceases  and  the 
Papacy  is  permitted  to  do  exactly  as  was  foretold. 
Whenever  a  period  arrives  in  which  the  prophets 

197 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

have  predicted  that  the  "waters  would  become  as 
blood,"  a  period  of  civil  war  began,  just  as  if  the 
prophets  themselves  controlled  the  times  and  events 
and  had  brought  them  to  pass  by  their  own  word. 
Whenever  these  prophets  foretold  that  a  plague 
should  occur,  it  was  visited,  seemingly  at  their 
command. 

During  the  period  that  the  Papacy  was  desolating 
the  "holy  city,"  these  two  witnesses  were  appareled 
in  "sackcloth."  That  was  the  period  of  mourning 
and  affliction  for  them.  The  Old  and  the  New 
Testaments  were  banished  from  the  world.  While 
not  destroyed,  the  pall  of  heathen  ignorance  and 
superstition  veiled  their  faces.  As  they  testified, 
no  one  heeded  their  testimony.  This  "sackcloth" 
period  extended  from  533  A.  D.  to  1793  A.  D.  At 
this  time  the  "sackcloth"  was  removed.  They  began 
to  prophesy  to  mankind  without  the  intervention  of 
the  Papacy,  presbyteries  or  synods,  and  men  began 
to  investigate  the  Bible  for  themselves  and  apply 
its  teaching  according  to  the  dictates  of  conscience. 
The  Bible  shone  forth  with  a  luster  undimmed  by 
a  maze  of  human  speculations  and  traditions.  Mis- 
sionaries began  to  carry  the  gospel  light  to  the 
nations.  This  was  the  signal  for  war.  The  "beast 
that  Cometh  up  out  of  the  abyss,"  leading  the  com- 
bined hosts  of  evil,  at  once  engages  in  a  mighty 
warfare  against  the  Bible.  This  "beast"  is  referred 
to  again  in  Rev.  17:8,  and  denotes  a  phase  of  the 
Papal  power.  The  Papacy  has  always  been  the 
enemy  of  the  open  Bible,  and  in  1793  A.  D.  it 
rallies  the  hosts  of  infidelity  to  its  aid.     The  first 

198 


TEMPLE    MEASURED 


combat  signalizing  the  beginning  of  the  war  occurred 
in  France  in  the  above-named  year.  The  national 
assembly  of  France  abrogated  the  worship  of  God, 
and  by  decree  established  the  worship  of  Reason. 
Churches  were  turned  into  temples  for  the  promul- 
gation of  atheism  and  infidelity.  The  war  between 
the  "beast"  and  the  "two  witnesses"  is  still  being 
waged.  At  the  present  time  a  host  of  the  enemy 
have  insinuated  themselves  into  the  church  under 
the  guise  of  defenders  of  the  faith,  from  which 
vantage-point  they  seek  to  destroy  both  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments.  Boasting  of  their  scholarship, 
they  undermine  the  faith  of  the  common  people  in 
the  divine  character  of  the  witnesses.  Any  examina- 
tion of  the  Books  of  Daniel  and  Revelation  is 
jeered  at  by  these  so-called  "scholars"  as  being  the 
evidence  of  a  disordered  mind.  According  to  these 
self-appointed  custodians  of  all  Biblical  understand- 
ing, Daniel  and  John  were  not  prophets  at  all,  but 
wrote  fiction,  or  of  past  events  as  if  they  were  still 
in  the  future.  Thus,  at  the  present  time,  the  influ- 
ence of  these  two  great  apocalyptic  prophets  has 
been  almost  destroyed  by  the  insidious  attacks  of 
their  jeering,  scoffing  enemies.  Few  ministers  ever 
speak  upon  prophetic  themes,  either  through  igno- 
rance or  fear  that  they  might  be  thought  "unschol- 
arly." 

To  the  Christian  the  saddest  event  predicted  in 
the  Book  of  Revelation  is  that  which  is  mentioned 
in  this  connection.  "The  beast  that  cometh  up  out 
of  the  abyss  shall  overcome  and  kill"  the  two  wit- 
nesses.   The  thought  of  the  Bible  being  "overcome" 

199 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

and  "killed"  is  not  a  pleasant  one  for  a  faithful 
follower  of  Christ  to  contemplate,  yet  it  must  be  so. 
Every  detail  of  every  vision  of  the  prophet  has  been 
thus  far  fulfilled  to  the  minutest  particular.  This, 
also,  shall  surely  come  to  pass.  There  was  a  pre- 
liminary fulfillment  of  this  prophecy  in  the  banish- 
ment of  religion  and  the  establishment  of  the 
worship  of  Reason  in  1793.  After  a  reign  of  terror 
during  which  France  was  deluged  in  blood,  she 
came  to  her  senses,  and  the  decree  of  the  assembly 
was  repealed  and  the  Bible  was  resurrected.  That, 
however,  was  only  of  local  efifect.  The  complete 
fulfillment  of  this  prophecy  must  be  found  in  an 
event  whose  effect  is  world-wide,  for  "from  among 
the  peoples  and  tribes  and  tongues  and  nations  do 
men  look  upon  their  dead  bodies  three  days  and  a 
half  (v.  9). 

During  a  period  of  three  and  a  half  prophetic 
days,  or  three  and  one-half  years,  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments  will  be  "overcome."  Among  all  the 
nations  of  the  world  the  teaching,  precepts  and 
warnings  of  the  Bible  will  be  entirely  disregarded. 
Men  will  give  themselves  to  war  and  bloodshed. 
Murder,  robbery  and  oppression  will  prevail.  Un- 
speakable wrongs  will  be  perpetrated  everywhere 
without  scruple.  Just  as  soon  as  the  conflagration 
that  burst  forth  in  Europe  in  1914  A.  D.  spreads 
to  all  the  nations,  as  it  surely  will,  then  the  Bible 
will  be  "killed"  in  the  sense  spoken  of  here.  The 
Bible  is  "killed"  in  the  greater  part  of  Europe  now. 
They,  have  the  gentle  teachings- of  the  Prince  of 
peace,    but    these    are    disregarded.      None    of    the 

200 


TEMPLE    MEASURED 


forces  of  life  are  manifest  in  the  Book,  but  its 
"dead  body"  is  borne  about,  even  in  the  trenches 
as  the  ruthless  slaughter  is  carried  on.  That  this 
conflagration  of  war  is  spreading  is  apparent  when 
we  consider  that  the  same  President  who,  in  1914, 
called  on  the  nation  to  "pray  for  peace,"  was,  in 
1916,  addressing  large  assemblies  to  create  a  public 
sentiment  in  favor  of  a  military  program,  and  at  the 
present  times  armies  are  being  mobilized.  There  is 
one  ray  of  hope  in  the  dark  picture  that  hangs 
before  us.  This  period  when  the  Bible  will  be 
totally  disregarded  and  all  the  nations  will  be  swept 
into  the  maelstrom  of  war  will  last  but  three  years 
and  a  half.  It  will  be  the  period  of  the  "great  trib- 
ulation" of  Dan.  12:1.  At  the  end  of  these  three 
years  and  a  half,  the  governments  of  the  world 
will  be  so  weakened  by  the  mighty  struggles  in 
which  they  have  been  engaged  that  they  will  be 
tottering  and  crumbling  to  their  fall.  National  debts 
so  stupendous  will  have  accumulated  that  payment 
will  be  out  of  the  question.  Farms,  mills  and  fac- 
tories, being  deserted  by  the  men  for  three  and  a 
half  years,  will  no  longer  produce  the  necessities  of 
life.  Want  and  poverty  will  stare  the  living  in  the 
face.  At  this  time  men  will  come  to  a  realization 
that  the  boasted  policies  of  men  and  of  nations  have 
come  to  irretrievable  disaster,  and  that  the  course 
of  action  taught  by  Christ  is  the  only  true  one. 
The  Old  and  New  Testaments  will  be  "raised  from 
the  dead."  The  "two  prophets"  will  stand  "upon 
their  feet."  This  denotes  the  turning  again  to  the 
teaching  of  the  Bible.     Their  ascension  to  heaven 

201 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

denotes  the  fact  that  at  that  time  a  mighty  revival 
of  Christianity  is  taking  place  as  men  recognize  the 
authority  of  the  two  prophets.  This  revival  has 
scarcely  begun  until  a  "great  earthquake"  occurs, 
and  the  tottering  fabric  of  world  government  begins 
to  be  disintegrated.  The  Papal  power,  under  the 
figure  of  a  "city,"  receives  a  staggering  blow  as 
disaster  sweeps  a  tenth  part  to  destruction.  Only 
one  more  "Woe"  is  necessary  to  destroy  this  age-old 
political  power  that  had  been  masquerading  in  the 
garb  of  religion  for  1,260  years. 

The    final     disaster     for    the 
The  Seventh  Papacy   "will   come   quickly"    (v. 

"^^  14).      It   is   a   day   of   mourning 

for  the  Pretender  of  the  Tiber,  for  in  that  day  he 
will  be  shorn  of  all  of  the  power  with  which  he  has 
oppressed  mankind,  and  he  will  stand  forth  with 
all  of  his  fraudulent  pretenses,  murders  and  adul- 
teries transparent  before  the  eyes  of  mankind, 
revealed  as  "the  man  of  sin."  The  trumpet  will 
sound  and  the  heavens  will  suddenly  become  ablaze 
with  the  glory  of  a  heavenly  host  sweeping  toward 
the  earth.  From  all  the  graveyards  of  earth  the 
sleeping  followers  of  Christ,  having  heard  the 
trumpet-call  of  their  King,  are  coming  forth  from 
their  tombs,  and,  with  their  translated  brethren  who 
are  alive  in  that  day,  they  become  a  mighty  host 
ascending  "to  meet  their  Saviour  in  the  air,"  where 
they  "crown  him  Lord  of  all."  What  a  meeting 
that  will  be!  The  bitter  sorrows  and  heavy  burdens 
of  earth  will  be  inconsequential  as  compared  with 
the  joy  that  shall  be  revealed. 

202 


TEMPLE    MEASURED 


The  nations  lie  prostrate  at  His  feet,  and,  having 
learned  from  bitter  experience  the  vanity  of  human 
boastings,  yield  unto  his  authority,  and  a  mighty 
shout  of  victory  echoes  to  the  farthermost  parts 
of  the  universe  as  the  voices  from  heaven  join 
in  the  proclamation  of  Christ's  glad  reign.  We 
may  well  afford  to  endure  whatever  may  be  our 
lot  during  the  few  years  that  may  elapse  until  the 
nations  be  humiliated,  and  they  are  completely 
crushed  by  "the  stone  cut  out  without  hands." 
Then  there  remains  nothing  save  the  setting  up, 
upon  its  ruins,  of  the  kingdom  that  "fills  the 
whole  earth." 


208 


Part    III. 


206 


CHAPTER  XI. 
THE  WOMAN  AND  THE  DRAGON 

THE  second  series  of  visions  has  reached  its 
culmination  in  the  estabHshment  of  Christ's 
great  world-empire.  In  them  the  seer  of  Patmos 
had  been  privileged  to  witness  the  changing  for- 
tunes of  that  great  Roman  Empire  as  it  perpetuated 
itself  in  different  forms  for  almost  two  thousand 
years.  During  all  of  the  vicissitudes  of  its  existence 
through  these  almost  twenty  centuries,  whether  in 
pagan,  professed  Christian  or  Papal  forms,  the 
Roman  power  has  been  essentially  the  same  blas- 
phemous, persecuting  opposer  of  true  Christianity ; 
and,  as  such,  the  history  of  her  final  overthrow, 
and  the  exaltation  of  the  church  she  has  always 
persecuted,  corrupted  and  trampled  down,  it  is  the 
purpose  of  this  second  series  of  visions  to  reveal. 
This  series,  being  finished,  is  withdrawn,  and  John 
is  privileged  to  witness  a  new  series  of  a  different 
character. 

We  are  not  left  to  any  arbitrary  division  of  the 
Apocalypse.  The  Holy  Spirit  has  plainly  marked 
the  three  parallel  series  of  symbols  so  that  men 
could  not  make  a  mistake.  The  prophetic  events 
symbolized  in  the  letters  to  the  seven  churches  are 
introduced    by   a    vision    of    a    divine    being    in    the 

207 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

midst  of  seven  golden  candlesticks.  The  prophetic 
events  of  the  second  division  are  introduced  by  a 
vision  of  a  door  opened  in  heaven.  In  each  case 
the  nature  of  the  vision  determined  the  character 
of  the  events  symbolized  in  the  subject-matter 
which  followed.  Likewise,  the  beginning  of  the 
third  part  of  Revelation  is  clearly  indicated  by  the 
vision  of  the  opened  temple  of  God  in  heaven: 

The  Vision  "And  there  was  opened  the  temple 

of  God  that  is  in  heaven ;  and  there 
was  seen  in  his  temple  the  ark  of  his  covenant;  and  there 
followed  lightnings,  and  voices,  and  thunders,  and  an  earth- 
quake, and  great  hail"  (Rev.  11 :  19). 

John  no  longer  beholds  thrones  and  them  that 
sit  thereon.  He  is  not  now  concerned  with  kings 
and  rulers  as  they  lead  their  armies  to  glorious 
victories  or  to  inglorious  defeats.  He  is  now 
privileged  to  gaze  upon  the  interior  of  "the  temple 
of  God  that  is  in  heaven."  The  temple  has  to  do 
with  spiritual  things.  It  is  the  place  where  the 
priests  perform  their  daily  ministrations  in  obedience 
to  divine  law,  and  where  God  meets  and  speaks  to 
his  people  at  the  mercy-seat.  Particularly  was  there 
seen,  in  his  temple,  "the  ark  of  his  covenant."  The 
ark  rested  in  the  innermost  sanctuary,  the  "Holy 
of  Holies."  It  contained  the  tables  of  stone,  the 
pot  of  manna  and  Aaron's  rod  that  budded  and 
bloomed.  This  series  of  visions  will  have  to  do 
with  things  connected  with  the  temple  of  God. 
They  will  symbolize  spiritual  powers  rather  than 
political ;  spiritual  forces  and  movements  rather  than 
physical.      After   John    had   gazed    upon    the    "ark 

208 


THE    WOMAN    AND    THE    DRAGON 

of  his  cxDvenant,"  and  which  was  the  place  of 
God's  presence,  "there  followed  lightnings,  and 
voices,  and  thunders,  and  an  earthquake,  and  great 
hail."  Then,  the  events  that  follow  this  intro- 
ductory vision  are  of  such  a  nature  that  they  may 
be  characterized  by  these  symbols.  Spiritual  storms, 
tumults,  convulsions  and  destructive  forces  will  be 
described  as  vision  follows  vision  to  the  end.  This 
final  series  of  visions  will  reveal  the  history  of 
Rome  in  her  spiritual  or  religious  guises,  as  well 
as  that  of  the  true  church  of  Christ,  through  the 
changing  centuries.  This,  being  parallel  and  a  mate 
to  the  first  and  second  series  of  visions,  will  be 
confined  to  the  same  time  limits;  that  is,  from 
96  A.  D.  to  the  second  coming  of  Christ  and  the 
establishment  of  his  kingdom. 

First  Sign  "And    a    great    sign    was    seen    in 

heaven  :  a  woman  arrayed  with  the  sun, 
and  the  moon  under  her  feet  and  upon  her  head  a  crown  of 
twelve  stars ;  and  she  was  with  child ;  and  she  crieth  out, 
travailing  in  birth,  and  in  pain  to  be  delivered.  .  .  .  And 
she  was  delivered  of  a  son,  a  man  child,  who  is  to  rule  all  the 
nations  with  a  rod  of  iron  :  and  her  child  was  caught  up  unto 
God,  and  unto  his  throne"  (Rev.  12:  1,  2,  5). 

"And  there  was  seen  another  sign 
Second  Sign  -^^   heaven :    and   behold,    a   great    red 

dragon,  having  seven  heads  and  ten  horns,  and  upon  his 
heads  seven  diadems,  and  his  tail  draweth  the  third  part  of 
the  stars  of  heaven,  and  did  cast  them  to  the  earth :  and  the 
dragon  standeth  before  the  woman  that  is  about  to  be  de- 
livered, that  when  she  is  delivered  he  may  devour  her  child" 
(Rev.  12:3,4). 

We  have  two  contemporary  and  opposing  spirit- 
ual  forces   symbolized   here.     They  were   the   ones 

14  209 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

that  were  struggling  for  the  mastery  of  the  world 
in  96  A.  D.,  but  John  is  giving  in  these  two  signs 
some  antecedent  history  in  order  that  his  readers 
might  be  enabled  to  identify  them  with  exactness. 
The  scene  presented  here  reminds  us  much  of  that 
enacted  in  the  garden  of  Eden  at  the  beginning 
of  the  race.  There  the  serpent  comes  before  the 
woman,  not  to  destroy  her,  but  by  deception  to  ruin 
and  destroy  the  prospects  of  the  seed  of  the  woman. 
Following  the  accomplishment  of  his  purpose,  there 
sprang  up  enmity  between  the  serpent  and  the 
woman,  and  between  the  seed  of  the  serpent  and 
the  seed  of  the  woman.  In  the  same  connection 
it  was  foretold  that  the  promised  "seed"  should 
bruise  the  serpent's  head. 

The  spiritual  counterpart  of  the  woman  is  now 
about  to  be  delivered  of  her  child,  and  the  antagonist 
of  the  woman  is  watching  that  he  may  devour  the 
child  and  nullify  the  word  of  God.  The  woman 
is  resplendently  appareled.  Her  garment  is  the 
sun.  From  her  person  is  radiated  all  of  the  divine 
light  that  is  shed  abroad  in  the  world.  She  is 
identified,  however,  by  her  child.  It  is  a  "man 
child"  whose  destiny  is  "to  rule  the  nations  with 
a  rod  of  iron,"  and  he  was  at  once  "caught  up  unto 
God,  and  unto  his  throne."  There  is  but  one 
being  whom  this  description  fits,  or  can  fit,  and 
that  is  the  resurrected  and  ascended  Christ.  "So 
then  the  Lord  Jesus,  after  he  had  spoken  unto  them, 
was  received  up  into  heaven,  and  sat  down  at  the 
right  hand  of  God"  (Mark  16: 19). 

This   woman,  however,  is  not  the  mother  that 

210 


THE   WOMAN    AND    THE    DRAGON 

gave  him  physical  birth,  neither  is  his  physical 
birth  spoken  of  when  the  woman  was  delivered. 
Jesus  indicates  the  events  referred  to  in  John 
16:21,  22:  "A  woman  when  she  is  in  travail  hath 
sorrow,  because  her  hour  is  come:  but  when  she 
is  delivered  of  the  child,  she  remembereth  no 
more  the  anguish,  for  the  joy  that  a  man  is  born 
into  the  world.  And  ye  therefore  now  have  sor- 
row." The  hour  had  come  for  the  deliverance 
of  the  man  child.  The  travail  pains  of  the  woman 
were  the  bitter  events  connected  with  the  crucifixion. 
The  disciples  were  sorrowing  because  they  were  a 
part  of  the  woman  and  were  experiencing  the 
anguish  of  her  travail.  The  woman,  then,  is  true 
spiritual  Israel.  Micah  spoke  about  this  event  in 
these  words:  "Now  why  dost  thou  cry  out  aloud? 
Is  there  no  king  in  thee,  is  thy  counsellor  perished, 
that  pangs  have  taken  hold  of  thee  as  of  a  woman 
in  travail?  Be  in  pain,  and  labor  to  bring  forth, 
O  daughter  of  Zion,  like  a  woman  in  travail;  for 
now  shalt  thou  go  forth  out  of  the  city,  and  shalt 
dwell  in  the  field,  and  shalt  come  even  unto 
Babylon"  (Mic.  4:9,  10). 

Paul  uses  a  similar  figure  of  speech  when  he 
says:  "We  are  not  the  children  of  a  handmaid, 
but  of  the  free  woman"  (Gal.  4:31).  The  "hand- 
maid" spoken  of  here  is  spiritual  Israel  in  bondage 
to  the  law,  and  the  "free  woman"  is  spiritual  Israel 
loosed  from  the  bondage  of  the  law,  or  the  church. 
The  woman  spoken  of  by  John  is  spiritual  Israel 
at  the  time  of  the  crucifixion.  She  was  delivered 
of  the  "man  child"  when  Christ  was  raised  from  the 

211 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

dead.  "And  he  is  the  head  of  the  body,  the  church: 
who  is  the  beginning,  the  firstborn  from  the  dead" 
(Col.  1:18).  (See  Rom.  8:29  and  Col.  1:15.) 
Christ  was  the  "firstborn"  of  spiritual  Israel,  and 
the  time  of  his  birth  was  when  he  came  forth  from 
the  grave. 

While  this  woman  was  experiencing  the  pains 
of  approaching  maternity,  she  is  said  to  have  had 
the  "moon  under  her  feet."  This  refers  to  the 
fact  that  the  Jewish  dispensation,  that  reflected  the 
light  of  the  Sun  of  righteousness,  was  now  about 
at  an  end,  and  she  was  to  be  in  bondage  to  the 
law  no  longer.  "The  law  and  the  prophets  were 
until  John:  from  that  time  the  gospel  of  the  kingdom 
of  God  is  preached,  and  every  man  entereth  violently 
into  it"  (Luke  16:  16).  At  the  time  of  the  preach- 
ing of  John,  spiritual  Israel  placed  her  feet  upon 
the  "moon"  and  arrayed  herself  with  the  "sun." 
During  the  three  and  a  half  years  of  Jesus'  min- 
istry the  full  flood-light  of  his  teaching  filled  Israel. 
Jesus  himself  said:  "When  I  am  in  the  world,  I 
am  the  light  of  the  world"  (John  9:5).  At  this 
time  spiritual  Israel  did  not  comprehend  all  of  the 
Jews.  Paul  says:  "They  are  not  all  Israel,  that 
are  of  Israel"  (Rom.  9:6).  Only  those  who  turned 
away  from  the  traditions  of  the  elders  and  became 
disciples  of  Christ  during  his  ministry  could  be 
termed  as  rightfully  being  a  part  of  spiritual  Israel. 
Centuries  before,  Moses  had  testified  that  every 
soul  that  would  not  hear  the  words  of  the  Prophet 
that  was  to  come,  should  be  cut  off  from  among 
the    people.      During    his    ministry    Jesus    gathered 

212 


THE    WOMAN    AND    THE    DRAGON 

out  from  the  Jews  a  people  who  constituted  true 
spiritual  Israel.  The  woman  wore  a  "crown  of 
twelve  stars."  These  denote  the  twelve  apostles 
who  were  chosen  by  Jesus  and  who  were  to  shine 
in  his  stead  after  he  ascended  to  God.  After  the 
resurrection,  when  spiritual  Israel  had  become  a 
mother,  she  is  the  church  of  Christ.  She  is  now 
the  "free  woman"  spoken  of  by  Paul,  and  no  longer 
a  "handmaid." 

The  dragon  now  remains  to  be  identified.  It, 
also,  is  a  "sign,"  symbolizing  a  spiritual  power  that 
is  the  antagonist  of  the  woman  and  her  seed.  A 
moment's  reflection  will  make  the  matter  plain. 
This  antagonist  was  before  the  woman,  waiting  to 
devour  the  child  as  soon  as  it  should  be  born,  and 
he  continues  his  antagonism  through  the  centuries. 
While  the  Jews  were  the  most  bitter  opponents  of 
the  church,  their  hatred  could  only  be  exerted 
through  pagan  Rome.  They  admitted  to  Pilate 
that  they  did  not  have  the  power  of  death.  It  was 
Pilate,  the  representative  of  paganism,  who  crucified 
Jesus,  and  at  the  time  of  John's  vision  paganism 
was  the  virulent  and  persecuting  opponent  of  the 
church. 

The  dragon  has  other  marks  by  which  he  may  be 
identified.  He  has  "seven  heads  and  ten  horns." 
John  explains  these  terms  in  the  seventeenth  chapter. 
"The  seven  heads  are  seven  mountains"  (v.  9). 
"Mountain"  is  a  figure  of  speech  denoting  a  king- 
dom or  form  of  government.  (Compare  Dan. 
2:35  with  2:44.)  There  is  no  need  at  this  time 
to   understand  the   meaning  of   the   "seven   horns," 

213 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

for  when  John  saw  the  vision  they  had  no  crowns; 
that  is,  they  did  not  exercise  any  power.  The  heads 
were  crowned  and  had  held  sway  over  men.  This 
dragon  was  a  composite  of  seven  different  forms 
of  government  that  had  existed  at  different  periods. 
John  says  of  these  "kings"  or  forms  of  government, 
that  "five  are  fallen,  one  now  is  and  one  is  yet  to 
come."  The  Roman  Empire  existed  under  six 
forms  of  government  up  to  the  time  John  was 
writing.  Rome  had  been  ruled  successively  by 
kings,  consuls,  dictators,  tribunes,  decemvirs  and 
emperors.  The  one  yet  to  come  was  the  rule  of  the 
exarchs.  Thus  the  great  antagonist  of  the  church 
was  paganism,  and  it  exerted  its  power  through 
the  Roman  Empire. 

This  spiritual  power  is  further  identified  by  the 
apostle  as  the  Devil  and  Satan.  He  is  called  "the 
old  serpent";  that  is,  the  one  that  deceived  Eve  in 
old  times  (v.  9).  He  is  the  age-old  accuser  and 
persecutor  of  the  chosen  people  of  God.  He  was 
the  invisible  spirit  of  evil  that  controlled  and  domi- 
nated all  of  the  rapacious,  beastly  forms  of  govern- 
ment that  had  held  sway  over  men  from  the  begin- 
ning, so  that  no  matter  whether  it  be  ancient 
Babylon  that  enslaves  the  Jews,  or  whether  it  be 
pagan  Rome  that  persecutes  the  church,  or  Papal 
Rome  that  visits  her  murderous  hate  upon  the 
saints,  it  is  Satan  incarnate  in  them  all,  who  seeks 
to  destroy  spiritual  Israel.  He  is  "the  prince  of 
this  world"  (John  14:30).  Ancient  Babylon  and 
Papal  Rome  are  the  same  whether  ruled  by 
Nebuchadnezzar    or    by    the    Pope,    for    both    are 

214 


THE    WOMAN    AND    THE    DRAGON 

dominated  by  Beelzebub,  the  prince  of  devils.  For 
this  reason  John  uses  the  term  "Babylon"  in  this 
part  of  Revelation  to  describe  the  Papacy,  as  these 
visions  have  to  do  with  spiritual  agencies. 

War  in  Heaven  "And    there    was    war    in    heaven : 

Michael  and  his  angels  going  forth  to 
war  with  the  dragon ;  and  the  dragon  warred  and  his  angels ; 
and  they  prevailed  not,  neither  was  their  place  found  any 
more  in  heaven.  And  the  great  dragon  was  cast  down,  the 
old  serpent,  he  that  is  called  the  Devil  and  Satan,  the  deceiver 
of  the  whole  world;  he  was  cast  down  to  the  earth,  and  his 
angels  were  cast  down  with  him"  (Rev.  12:7-9). 

When  the  "man  child  was  caught  up  to  God, 
unto  his  throne"  (v.  5),  John  adds  that  "the  woman 
fled  into  the  wilderness,  where  she  hath  a  place 
prepared  of  God,  that  there  they  may  nourish  her 
a  thousand  two  hundred  and  threescore  days." 
This  information  was  added  at  this  point  to  indicate 
in  a  few  words  that  the  woman  escaped  unsullied 
and  unharmed  from  the  dragon  and  continued  for 
a  long  space  of  time  in  asylum.  It  also  indicates 
that  the  true  church  of  Christ  maintains  the  same 
pure,  maternal  character,  although  in  hiding. 

Now,  beginning  with  verse  7,  John  relates  the 
causes  that  led  up  to  the  woman's  flight  and  seclu- 
sion. When  the  "man  child  ascended  unto  God," 
war  was  declared  against  the  dragon.  Michael,  the 
prince  who  stands  for  the  children  of  spiritual 
Israel  (Dan.  12:1),  attacked  the  Devil  and  his 
angels.  Michael  and  his  angels  were  the  aggressors. 
It  continued  until  the  Devil  and  his  angels  were 
"cast   down   to    the    earth."      The    reader    will    see 

215 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

at  once  that  only  spiritual  forces  are  engaged  in 
this  mighty  struggle  that  is  taking  place,  and  that 
carnal  weapons  could  not  therefore  have  been  used 
in  it.  The  attack  is  made  upon  the  Devil  and  his 
angels  in  their  spiritual  character  and  not  in  their 
physical  guise  as  the  political  Roman  Empire.  The 
political  power  of  Rome  was  not  exerted  at  all 
during  this  war. 

John  could  not  have  made  his  meaning  any 
plainer  if  he  had  said  he  was  describing  the  vic- 
torious progress  of  the  gospel  during  the  apostolic 
age.  Immediately  upon  the  ascension  of  Christ,  the 
apostles  began  a  warfare  against  the  powers  of 
darkness.  They  proclaimed  the  gospel  with  such 
power  that  three  thousand  were  added  unto  them 
the  first  day.  They  used  no  weapon  but  the  "sword 
of  the  Spirit"  (Eph.  6:17;  Heb.  4:12).  The 
gospel  spread  out  into  Judea  and  .Samaria  and  to 
Antioch.  From  Antioch  the  first  attack  was  made 
by  Paul  against  paganism.  In  a  great  pitched 
battle  at  Ephesus,  described  in  Acts  19,  paganism 
was  routed.  Those  who  formerly  practiced  the  arts 
of  the  Devil  burned  books  valued  at  fifty  thousand 
pieces  of  silver,  and  the  temple  of  the  goddess 
Diana  was  being  deserted.  Paul,  in  writing  to  the 
Ephesians,  described  the  nature  of  the  warfare  that 
was  being  carried  on  and  the  weapons  used:  "Put 
on  the  whole  armor  of  God,  that  ye  may  be  able 
to  stand  against  the  wiles  of  the  devil.  For  our 
wrestling  is  not  against  flesh  and  blood,  but  against 
the  principalities,  against  the  powers,  against  the 
world-rulers  of  this  darkness,  against  the  spiritual 

216 


THE    WOMAN    AND    THE    DRAGON 

hosts  of  wickedness  in  the  heavenly  places"  (Eph. 
6:11,  12). 

Paul  and  John  are  both  describing  the  same 
warfare.  It  is  the  combat  of  the  gospel  against 
paganism  as  a  spiritual  force.  Paganism  could  not 
stand  against  the  mighty  onslaughts  of  the  gospel. 
The  attack  was  being  carried  on  everywhere,  so 
that  even  Paul  could  say  that  the  gospel  was  being 
preached  in  all  the  world.  In  this  spiritual  struggle 
paganism  was  routed  and  Satan  was  defeated  and 
"cast  down  to  the  earth."  He  becomes  incarnate 
in  the  political  Roman  Empire,  as  we  have  before 
seen  that  this  great  world-power  comprised  the 
"earth"  of  John's  day.  Henceforth  Satan  will  use 
the  carnal  weapons  of  the  empire  in  his  attempt 
to  destroy  the  church.  It  indicates  the  beginning 
of  general  persecutions  of  the  church  by  the  author- 
ity of  Rome.  The  persecution  under  Domitian,  and 
the  one  which  caused  John  to  be  banished  to  the 
isle  of  Patmos,  was  the  first  effort  of"  the  vanquished 
prince  of  evil  to  use  the  carnal  weapons  of  his 
temporal  empire  in  his  struggles  against  a  victorious 
church. 

At  this  point  the  antecedent  history  ends  and 
"the  things  which  must  come  to  pass  hereafter" 
begin.  The  history  of  this  spiritual  struggle  which 
had  just  ended  at  the  time  of  the  vision  is  given 
that  the  reader  might  have  the  proper  perspective, 
and  understand  clearly, the  true  nature  of  the  con- 
testants in  the  struggle  that  shall  ensue.  This  is 
made  plain  in  the  shout  of  victory  that  was  heard 
as  Satan  was  compelled  to  resort  to  carnal  weapons. 

217 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

"Now  is  come  the  salvation,  and  the  power,  and  the  king- 
dom of  our  God,  and  the  authority  of  his  Christ:  for  the 
accuser  of  our  brethren  is  cast  down,  who  accuseth  them  be- 
fore our  God  day  and  night.  And  they  overcame  him  because 
of  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  and  because  of  the  word  of  their 
testimony;  and  they  loved  not  their  life  even  unto  death. 
Therefore  rejoice,  O  heavens,  and  ye  that  dwell  in  them. 
Woe  for  the  earth  and  for  the  sea :  because  the  devil  is  gone 
down  unto  you,  having  great  wrath,  knowing  that  he  hath 
but  a  short  time"  (vs.  10-12). 

The  sentiment  expressed  in  the  tenth  verse  is 
such  as  would  be  voiced  by  the  soldiers  of  Christ 
as  they  realized  the  invincible  power  of  the  gospel, 
and  that  the  spiritual  weapons  of  the  mighty  prince 
of  devils  could  never  withstand  its  progress.  The 
eleventh  verse  records  the  means  used  in  casting 
Satan  down.  They  were  "the  blood  of  the  Lamb" 
and  "the  word  of  his  testimony."  The  apostles 
used  these  weapons  with  all  of  the  abandon  of 
men  who  "counted  all  things  as  loss  that  they 
might  win  Christ."  In  the  twelfth  verse  warning 
is  given  of  the  woe  that  the  earth  and  the  sea  shall 
experience  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  the  Devil 
was  in  the  earth;  that  is,  incarnate  in  the  Roman 
Empire.  This  marks  an  epochal  date  in  the  life 
history  of  Satan's  rule.  In  former  times  he  had 
been  able  to  corrupt  spiritual  Israel  by  means  of 
his  seductive  idolatries  and  the  abominations  of 
pagan  worship.  Israel  and  Judah  fell  an  easy 
prey  to  his  spiritual  devices,  and  their  land  was 
polluted  with  heathen  religions.  He  only  used  his 
temporal  power  to  punish  them  after  they  had  been 
taken  captive. 

218 


THE    WOMAN    AND    THE    DRAGON 

Now  he  has  met  an  antagonist  that  he  can  not 
overcome  with  all  of  his  deceitful  devices,  and  he 
himself  has  been  vanquished.  From  the  date  of 
John's  vision  he  no  longer  parades  in  his  true 
spiritual  character,  but  manifests  himself  in  the 
great  seven-headed  monster  that  was  identified  as 
the  pagan  Roman  Empire  in  the  year  96  A.  D. 
Henceforth,  until  the  final  victory  of  the  true 
church  at  the  second  coming  of  Christ,  those  who 
rule  at  Rome  are  the  mere  puppets  of  Satan, 
whether  they  be  emperors  or  popes.  Satan  is  the 
dominating  spirit  incarnate  in  the  empire,  and  he 
uses  its  rulers  and  those  in  authority  to  give  expres- 
sion to  his  will  and  deceitful  machinations.  Satan 
has  been  cast  down  from  "heaven"  to  the  "earth," 
or  the  Roman  Empire,  and  there  remains  no  place 
for  him  to  escape.  He  must  remain  in  "the  earth" 
until  he  is  completely  vanquished  and  chained  in 
the  "abyss."  Therefore,  Satan  will  be  incarnate 
in  every  form  of  world  empire  which  has  its 
capital  at  Rome,  from  96  A.  D.  until  the  coming 
of  Christ,  that  glorious  event  still  in  the  future. 
This  will  be  shown  more  clearly  in  the  next  chapter, 
as  the  history  of  the  beasts  is  traced. 

The  history  recorded  in  verses  13  to  17,  inclu- 
sive, begins  with  this  epochal  date  marked  by  the 
events  connected  with  the  imprisonment  of  John 
96  A.  D.,  and  continuing  until  the  woman  has 
completed  her  flight  and  is  completely  concealed  in 
the  wilderness  in  6(^  A.  D.  John  gives  in  brief 
this  outline  of  the  first  epoch  of  the  history  of  the 
woman  that  he  may  be  free  to  describe,  in  the  next 

219 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

chapter,  the  "beasts"  that  arise  before  she  has 
completed  her  flight. 

At  the  end  of  the  first  century,  v/hen  the  gospel 
had  made  such  rapid  conquests  of  paganism,  Satan 
was  driven  to  his  last  citadel,  the  physical  power 
of  a  world  empire.  Here  he  continued  the  war 
against  Christianity  with  greater  ferocity  than 
before,  using  all  the  physical  means  of  destruction 
which  he  could  invent.  The  Roman  emperor  and 
his  officers  did  his  bidding.  "And  when  the  dragon 
saw  that  he  was  cast  dov/n  to  the  earth,  he  perse- 
cuted the  woman  that  brought  forth  the  man 
child"  (v.  13).  This  describes  the  era  of  perse- 
cution beginning  with  that  under  which  John 
suffered,  to  313  A.  D.  During  this  period  the 
Christians  suffered  ten  persecutions,  the  last  one 
being,  perhaps,  the  most  virulent  of  them  all.  The 
expressed  purpose  of  this  last  persecution  was  "to 
abolish  the  Christian  name  from  the  earth."  The 
history  recorded  in  this  verse  corresponds  in  point 
of  time  to  that  of  the  Ephesian  and  Smyrna  periods 
of  the  first  part  of  Revelation,  and  to  the  period 
of  the  first  five  seals  in  the  second  series  of  visions. 

The  fourteenth  verse  records  the  fact  that  the 
church  receives  momentary  help.  "And  there  were 
given  to  the  woman  the  two  wings  of  the  great 
eagle,  that  she  might  fly  into  the  wilderness  unto 
her  place,  where  she  is  nourished  for  a  time,  and 
times,  and  a  half  a  time,  from  the  face  of  the 
serpent."  This  period  began  with  313  A.  D.,  when 
Licinius  issued  his  edict  of  toleration,  and  continued 
until  410  A.  D.     During  this  time  Satan  professed 

220 


THE   WOMAN    AND    THE    DRAGON 

to  be  Christian.  He  transformed  himself  into  an 
"angel  of  light."  Constantine  marched  to  Rome, 
and,  after  a  contest  lasting  until  324  A.  D.,  the 
empire,  which  had  been  ruled  by  six  contending 
emperors,  was  united  with  the  capital  at  Constan- 
tinople. In  331  A.  D.  he  by  decree  abolished 
paganism,  and  its  temples  were  leveled,  and  in  337 
A.  D.  half  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  empire  professed 
Christianity  and  it  became  the  religion  of  state. 

To  all  outward  appearance  this  was  a  most 
glorious  victory  for  the  church,  but  it  accelerated 
her  flight  to  the  wilderness  and  her  complete  seclu- 
sion. The  religious  wing  of  the  empire  and  the 
state  wing,  when  vitally  joined  together  as  they 
were  beginning  with  325  A.  D.,  would  quickly 
produce  an  apostasy  that  would  completely  eclipse 
the  true  church  of  Christ.  It  was  in  the  above- 
named  year  that  the  Council  of  Nice  was  assembled 
under  the  influence  of  Constantine,  and  creed-mak- 
ing was  inaugurated.  The  Nicean  Creed  was  pro- 
mulgated as  a  yoke  that  must  be  worn  by  every 
one  who  wished  salvation.  During  this  period  four 
angels  providentially  restrained  the  barbarians  from 
the  north  from  overrunning  the  empire  ( Rev.  7:1), 
but  in  410  A.  D.  they  were  loosed.  During  this 
time  the  church  was  free  from  the  persecutions  that 
she  had  experienced  in  former  years,  as  well  as 
from  the  blighting  and  polluting  influence  of  the 
wild  tribes  of  the  north.  She  was  "helped"  so  that 
her  life  could  not  be  completely  taken  from  the 
earth,  although  her  light  might  be  obscured  for  a 
long  period   of  years.     John   amplifies   the   history 

221 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

given  here,  in  his  description  of  the  first  beast  in 
chapter  13. 

The  "woman"  is  now  in  the  process  of  "flight." 
Dissension  in  the  church,  produced  by  the  promulga- 
tion of  the  Nicean  Creed,  grew  more  bitter.  The 
weakening  of  the  power  of  state,  and  development 
of  the  church  as  represented  by  the  rapidly  increas- 
ing influence  of  the  bishopric,  hastened  the  coming 
of  the  apostasy  and  the  consequent  disappearance 
of  true  Christianity.  In  410  A.  D.  the  streams  of 
wild  tribes  of  the  north  began  to  flow  into  the 
empire,  and  the  prophetic  statements  of  the  fifteenth 
and  sixteenth  verses  were  fulfilled.  "And  the 
serpent  cast  out  of  his  mouth  after  the  woman 
water  as  a  river,  that  he  might  cause  her  to  be 
carried  away  by  the  stream.  And  the  earth  helped 
the  woman,  and  the  earth  opened  her  mouth  and 
swallowed  up  the  river  which  the  dragon  cast  out 
of  his  mouth."  The  "earth"  at  this  time  was 
professed  Christian  Rome.  The  "waters"  are  peoples 
with  a  corrupt  religion,  as  if  coming  from  the 
mouth  of  Satan.  Under  Odoacer,  the  Heruli 
completed  the  overthrow  of  the  western  Roman 
state  in  476  A.  D.,  but  not  its  religion.  It  "swal- 
lowed up"  these  northern  tribes,  for  they  embraced 
the  religion  of  the  empire.  This,  however,  hastened 
the  disappearance  of  the  true  church.  Between  476 
A.  D.  and  666  A.  D.  the  paganism  of  these  northern 
tribes  was  intermingled  with  the  already  corrupted 
religion  of  the  Romans,  so  that  in  the  last-men- 
tioned year  the  seclusion  of  true  Christianity  was 
complete,  and  in  its  stead  the  counterfeit  Christianity 

222 


THE    WOMAN    AND    THE    DRAGON 

was  wholly  established.  Twelve  hundred  and  sixty 
prophetic  days,  or  1,260  years,  are  to  elapse,  during 
which  the  Papacy,  the  monstrous  pagan  power,  is 
to  dominate  the  religion  of  the  world.  In  the 
year  1926  A.  D.  we  may  hope  to  see  this  Devil- 
begotten  institution  completely  overwhelmed  in  the 
great  conflagration  which  it  itself  lighted  in  1914 
A.  D. 

The  "woman"  having  disappeared  in  666  A.  D., 
John  now  relates  doings  of  the  dragon  during  the 
1,260  years  of  Papal  rule.  "And  the  dragon  waxed 
wroth  with  the  woman,  and  went  away  to  make 
war  with  the  rest  of  her  seed,  that  keep  the  com- 
mandments of  God,  and  hold  the  testimony  of 
Jesus:  and  he  stood  upon  the  sand  of  the  sea" 
(Rev.  12:17-13:1).  The  dragon  no  longer  perse- 
cutes the  "woman,"  for  she  is  in  a  safe  retreat 
"prepared  of  God,"  but  he  persecutes  "the  rest  of 
her  seed."  He  "went  away."  He  no  longer  appears 
in  his  dragon  form  in  the  western  empire.  The 
Papacy  will  do  his  work  effectually  in  that  portion 
of  his  domain,  and  will  make  relentless  war  upon 
any  of  the  woman's  seed  in  that  portion  of  the 
world  under  the  immediate  sway  of  Rome.  In  his 
dragon  form,  he  gives  his  attention  to  the  rest  of 
the  empire,  wherever  there  may  be  the  children  of 
the  true  church. 

The  Mohammedan  and  Turkish  invasions  are  the 
fulfillment  of  his  "war  with  the  rest  of  her  seed." 
Now  he  stands  "on  the  sand  of  the  sea" ;  that  is, 
on  the  boundaries  of  civilization.  There  he  remains 
in  his  dragon  form  as  the  dominating  spirit  of  the 

223 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

heathen  world.  There  the  blighting  power  of  the 
dragon  still  enslaves  humankind  with  the  galling 
shackles  of  paganism,  dominating  it  with  age-old 
ignorance,  superstition  and  idolatry. 

The  appointed  times  and  seasons  are  in  the  power 
of  God.  Twelve  hundred  and  sixty  years  is  the 
time  appointed  for  the  duration  of  the  Papacy. 
No  power  on  earth  can  change  it.  When  it 
comes  to  an  end,  the  Papacy  will  come  to  an  end, 
and  not  before.  During  this  period  the  true  church 
of  Christ,  represented  as  a  "woman,"  can  not  fully 
appear,  for  her  seclusion  corresponds  to  the  domi- 
nance of  the  Papacy.  A  mighty  movement  like 
the  Papacy  can  not  suddenly  appear.  It  is  only 
fully  developed  by  a  gradual  growth  through  suc- 
cessive stages.  The  pure  religion  of  the  Nazarene 
became  corrupted  by  a  gradual  deterioration  through 
corresponding  stages.  This  fact  reveals  how  indel- 
ibly this  1,260-year  period  is  written  in  the  history 
of  the  Papacy  and  the  corruption  of  Christianity. 
Beginning  with  the  victory  of  Constantine  and  the 
events  leading  up  to  the  Council  of  Nice,  325  A.  D., 
an  epoch-making  date  in  the  corruption  of  Chris- 
tianity, there  extends  a  period  of  1,260  years  to 
the  events  concluding  the  reign  of  Pope  Gregory 
XIII.  From  312  A.  D.,  the  beginning  of  the  cam- 
paign of  Constantine,  to  1572  A.  D.,  the  year  of 
the  St.  Bartholomew's  Massacre,  is  1,260  years. 
From  the  crushing  defeat  of  his  enemies  admin- 
istered by  Constantine  in  315  A.  D.,  to  the  edict 
of  pacification  with  the  Protestants  in  1575  A.  D., 
is  1,260  years.     It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  from 

224 


THE   WOMAN    AND    THE    DRAGON 

every  important  event  in  the  development  of  the 
Papacy,  there  extends  a  period  of  1,260  years  until 
a  corresponding  important  event  in  the  destruction 
of  the  Papacy.  It  is  not  strange,  therefore,  that 
1793  A.  D.  should  be  an  epoch-making  year  in  the 
history  of  Papal  Rome,  because,  1,260  years  before, 
an  edict  was  issued  which  declared  that  the  bishop 
of  Rome  was  the  "head  of  all  the  Holy  Churches 
of  God." 

Thus,  step  by  step,  the  downfall  of  this  Satanical 
institution  can  be  foretold.  In  663  A.  D.  Vitalianus 
enjoined  the  exclusive  use  of  the  Latin  tongue  in 
religious  worship  throughout  Christendom.  The 
effect  of  this  edict  was  to  unify  the  religious  world 
and  finally  establish  the  world  dominance  of  the 
Papacy  through  a  body  having  a  common  religious 
speech.  In  1923  A.  D.,  therefore,  will  occur  the 
greatest  convulsion  which  has  thus  far  shaken  the 
Papacy.  Its  result  will  be  the  breaking  up  and 
dissolution  of  that  unity  which  was  established  1,260 
years  before.  We  do  not  presume  to  say  just  what 
the  nature  of  the  events  of  1923  A.  D.  may  be,  for 
the  Scripture  has  not  intimated,  but  they  will 
inaugurate  the  three-and-a-half-year  period  ending, 
the  latter  part  of  1926  A.  D.,  in  its  complete  over- 
throw. During  this  period  the  "two  witnesses"  of 
Rev.  11:3-11  lie  slain  and  unburied.  With  patience 
we  wait  the  rapidly  approaching  events  connected 
with  the  desolation  of  the  Papacy  and  its  attendant 
restoration  of  the  "woman  clothed  with  the  sun," 
praying  that  we  who  may  be  alive  may  have  the  faith 
to    endure    the    bitter    trials    of    the    time.      Many 

15  225 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

religious  organizations,  styling  themselves  churches, 
have  arisen  in  the  years  gone  by,  but  from  none 
of  them  has  radiated  the  glorious  light  of  the  Sun 
of  righteousness,  because  the  time  was  not  at  hand 
when  all  of  the  traditions  and  superstitions  of  a 
pagan  institution  were  obliterated.  As  Luther  came 
out  of  Rome  the  first  rays  began  to  dimly  shine. 
With  each  succeeding  religious  movement  the  light 
has  shone  a  little  brighter,  and  as  we  stand  in  the 
beginning  of  the  twentieth  century  the  clouds  of 
ecclesiasticism  seem  ready  to  part  asunder  and  the 
clear  sky  of  God's  eternal  truth  be  revealed.  Men 
are  breaking  away  from  the  creeds,  centuries  old, 
and  are  seeking  for  a  basis  of  faith  and  worship 
free  from  the  entrammeling  superstitions  and  relics 
of  Papal  domination.  Men  are  hungering  for  an 
environment  where  world-peace  will  reign,  and  all 
mankind  will  be  free  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  toil. 


226 


CHAPTER  XII. 
THE  WILD  BEASTS 

HAVING  completed  the  history  of  the  struggle 
between  the  Devil,  in  the  form  of  a  dragon, 
and  the  church,  John  now  returns  to  the  point  where 
the  ''woman"  was  "helped,"  to  amplify  his  account 
and  give  in  detail  the  causes  and  circumstances 
that  hastened  her  flight: 

The  "And  I  saw  a  beast  coming  up  out 

Seven-headed  of  ^^^  ^ea,  having  ten  horns  and  seven 

T^^  u^^^^A  -D^^c*       heads,  and  on  his  horns  ten  diadems. 
Ten-horned  Beast  .■,'-.      a  r  ui      u 

and  upon  his  heads  names  of  blasphemy. 

And  the  beast  which  I  saw  was  like  unto  a  leopard,  and  his 

feet  were  as  the  feet  of  a  bear,  and  his  mouth  as  the  mouth 

of  a  lion  :  and  the  dragon  gave  him  his  power,  and  his  throne, 

and  great  authority"  (Rev.  13:  1,  2). 

The  details  concerning  this  beast  are  so  clear 
and  definite  that  there  is  no  difficulty  in  identifying 
the  power  that  it  represents.  The  prominent,  dis- 
tinguishing characteristics  of  this  "beast"  are  his 
seven  heads  and  ten  horns.  These  identify  him  as 
being  the  dragon  only  partially  transformed.  He 
still  possesses  the  distinguishing  features  of  the 
dragon.  Satan  was  not  able  to  divest  himself 
entirely  of  those  outward  marks  as  he  was  changed 
from  a  "dragon"  into  a  "beast."  Even  these  seven 
heads  and  ten  horns,  however,  had  undergone  some 

227 


THE     REVELATION     OF  -  JESUS     CHRIST 

changes.  The  horns  have  the  ascendency  over  the 
heads  in  this  vision.  As  a  dragon  he  had  "seven 
heads  and  ten  horns,"  but  as  a  beast  he  has  "ten 
horns  and  seven  heads."  The  horns  are  now  begin- 
ning to  manifest  a  prominence  which  they  did  not 
have  in  the  vision  of  the  dragon.  In  the  form  of  a 
dragon  there  were  diadems  on  the  heads,  while  the 
horns  were  only  mentioned  as  being  present.  In  the 
form  of  a  beast,  the  diadems  are  transferred  from 
the  heads  to  the  horns,  while  the  heads  wear  "names 
of  blasphemy." 

In  order  to  comprehend  the  full  significance  of 
this  transformation,  it  will  be  necessary  to  determine 
the  meaning  of  the  symbols  used.  In  the  seventh 
chapter  of  Daniel  v/e  have  their  definition.  "So  he 
told  me,  and  made  me  know  the  interpretation  of 
the  things.  These  great  beasts,  which  are  four,  are 
four  kings,  that  shall  arise  out  of  the  earth"  (Dan. 
7:16,  17).  A  beast  denotes  a  king,  but  not  in  a 
personal  sense.  The  angel  amplifies  his  interpre- 
tation and  explains  more  fully  what  he  means  by 
the  term  "king."  In  Dan.  7 :  23  the  angel  explains 
the  term  "beast"  in  these  words :  "The  fourth  beast 
shall  be  a  fourth  kingdom  upon  the  earth."  Thus 
the  term  "king"  signifies  the  same  thing  as  the 
term  "kingdom" ;  that  is,  it  is  used  with  reference 
to  the  oflfice  of  king  as  representing  all  of  the 
powers  and  authority  in  the  kingdom  during  the 
entire  period  of  its  existence.  John's  "beast,"  then, 
is  a  great  world-kingdom,  and  all  of  the  various 
stages  of  its  development  from  its  beginning  to  its 
end  are  comprehended  by  the  term. 

228 


THE    WILD    BEASTS 


The  term  "head"  is  explained  by  the  prophet,  in 
Rev.  17 :  9,  by  another  symbol — "mountain."  "The 
seven  heads  are  seven  mountains,  on  which  the 
woman  sitteth."  A  "mountain"  also  denotes  a 
"kingdom."  See  Jer.  51 :  25  in  this  connection,  and 
compare  Dan.  2:35  with  Dan.  2:44.  In  Dan.  2:35 
the  stone  is  said  to  become  "a  great  mountain,"  and 
the  interpretation  is  given  in  Dan.  2 :  44  as  a  "king- 
dom." The  idea  of  a  kingdom,  as  conveyed  by  the 
term  "beast,"  is  different  from  that  signified  by  the 
term  "mountain."  The  idea  of  a  "kingdom,"  as 
conveyed  by  the  term  "beast,"  is  that  of  the  entire 
life  history  of  the  kingdom,  without  regard  to  the 
distinct  stages  of  development  or  changes  in  dynas- 
ties, while  the  term  "head,"  or  "mountain,"  refers 
more  particularly  to  the  kingdom  in  each  of  these 
stages,  or  as  it  is  ruled  by  succeeding  dynasties. 
Thus,  a  "beast  having  seven  heads"  would  signify 
a  kingdom  whose  entire  life  history  was  comprised 
of  seven  distinct  stages  in  its  development,  or  of 
seven  succeeding  dynasties  or  forms  of  government. 
In  each  and  every  stage  it  is  the  same  "beast" 
manifesting  its  power  in  each  successive  "head"  or 
dynasty. 

The  term  "horn"  also  denotes  a  "kingdom," 
but  the  idea  conveyed  is  distinct  from  those  con- 
veyed by  either  "beast"  or  "head."  The  angel 
explains  this  fully  in  Dan.  8 :  20.  Daniel  had  seen 
a  vision  of  a  "ram  which  had  two  horns."  This 
ram,  being  a  "beast,"  represents  the  Medo-Persian 
empire  as  a  unitous  whole,  but  the  two  horns 
denoted    the    two    contemporary    divisions    of    that 

229 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

world-kingdom.  "The  ram  which  thou  sawest,  that 
had  the  two  horns,  they  are  the  kings  of  Media 
and  Persia." 

We  are  now  in  a  position  to  understand  the 
meaning  conveyed  by  the  symbols  which  John  uses. 
He  is  describing  a  world-kingdom.  During  its 
history  it  had  seven  distinct  forms  of  government, 
and  in  its  final  stage  it  was  broken  up  into  ten 
contemporary  divisions  or  kingdoms.  John  definitely 
identifies  this  beastly  power.  It  was  holding  sway 
of  the  world  in  his  day,  for  he  says  that  five  of 
the  heads  had  already  "fallen,  the  one  is,  the  other 
is  not  yet  come"  (Rev.  17:10).  The  Roman 
Empire  was  holding  sway,  in  one  of  its  stages  of 
development,  in  John's  day.  This  makes  it  abso- 
lutely certain  that  this  great  earthly  government  is 
the  one  that  is  described  by  the  term  "beast."  It 
had  ruled  through  five  successive  forms  of  govern- 
ment when  John  wrote.  These  had  been  (1)  kings, 
(2)  consuls,  (3)  dictators,  (4)  decemvirs  and  (5) 
tribunes.  As  John  was  writing,  the  authority  of 
the  empire  was  exercised  through  crowned  emperors. 
This  period  began  with  the  reign  of  Augustus, 
27  B.  C,  and  was  therefore  the  existing  "head" 
in  96  A.  D.  The  seventh  "head"  was  when  the 
empire  was  ruled  by  military  emperors  who  did 
not  ascend  to  the  throne  by  right  of  succession. 
This  seventh  form  of  government  began  with  the 
reign  of  Diocletian,  284  A.  D. 

The  dragon  has  already  been  identified  as  the 
Roman  Empire,  dominated  by  the  spirit  of  paganism. 
The  city  of  Rome  was  the  "seat"  or  capital  of  the 

230- 


THE    WILD    BEASTS 


empire.  The  "beast,"  as  described  in  this  vision, 
was  the  power  that  succeeded  the  pagan  empire, 
for  it  is  distinctly  stated  that  the  "dragon  gave  him 
his  power,  and  his  throne,  and  great  authority." 
This  took  place  during  the  conquest  of  the  empire 
by  Constantine  (313-324  A.  D.).  During  this 
period  paganism  gave  its  power  and  throne  and 
authority  to  professed  Christian  emperors.  The 
Roman  Empire  was  no  longer  dominated  by  the 
spirit  of  paganism,  but  by  the  spirit  of  Christianity 
as  it  was  understood  at  the  time.  The  "beast,"  as 
it  appeared  in  this  vision,  represents  the  Roman 
Empire  as  it  began  to  be  dominated  by  the  spirit 
of  professed  Christianity  in  324  A.  D.  As  a  political 
government,  it  was  then  in  its  seventh  stage  of 
development;  that  is,  when  it  was  ruled  by  military 
emperors.  This  had  begun  in  284  A.  D.,  as  men- 
tioned above. 

It  was  in  the  last  end  of  this  final  form  of  rule 
that  the  empire  was  separated  into  ten  distinct 
contemporary  divisions  or  independent  kingdoms. 
These,  at  the  first,  were  (1)  the  Anglo-Saxons,  (2) 
the  Franks  of  central  France,  (3)  the  Alleman- 
Franks  of  eastern  France,  (4)  the  Burgundian 
Franks,  (5)  the  Visigoths,  (6)  the  Suevi,  (7)  the 
Vandals,  (8)  the  Ostro-Goths  in  Italy,  (9)  the 
Bavarians  and  (10)  the  Lombards.  As  the  cen- 
turies passed  by,  these  horns,  through  the  various 
changes  brought  about  by  war  and  the  breaking  up 
of  the  entire  territory  of  the  ancient  empire,  assumed 
the  final  form  in  which  they  exist  to-day.  These 
divisions    are    England,    Spain,    Italy,    France,    Ger- 

231 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

many,  Russia,  Macedonia,  Egypt,  Syria  and  Persia. 

When  the  empire  was  broken  up  into  ten  con- 
temporary divisions,  the  authority  of  the  former 
united  government  was  exercised  through  them,  and 
the  "horns"  are  said  to  wear  diadems.  During  the 
period  when  paganism  dominated  the  empire,  it  was 
united  and  all  authority  was  exercised  through  the 
existing  "head,"  and  hence  at  that  time  the  "head" 
was  said  to  wear  a  diadem.  Even  throughout  the 
decadent  period  up  to  the  actual  breaking  up  of 
the  empire  into  separate  divisions  following  476 
A.  D.,  the  emperor  held  a  semblance  of  authority 
over  the  entire  kingdom.  When  this  breaking  up 
occurred,  the  diadems  passed  from  the  "heads"  and 
were  henceforth  worn  by  the  "horns." 

The  professed  Christian  Roman  Empire  is,  then, 
what  is  described  by  this  vision  of  the  seven-headed, 
ten-horned  beast.  It  is  important  that  we  notice 
the  other  details  given,  for  they  depict  the  true 
spiritual  nature  of  this  earthly  government.  When 
the  Devil  incarnate  in  the  pagan  empire  professed 
to  be  a  Christian,  he  did  not  divest  himself  of  his 
former  distinguishing  marks.  He  was  the  domi- 
nating spirit  of  the  professed  Christian  empire,  as 
he  was  of  the  pagan  form  of  government  that 
preceded  it.  It  had  the  Satanic  characteristics  of 
the  dragon,  for  it  had  the  same  seven  heads  and 
ten  horns.  These  branded  it  as  being  Satan's.  He 
had  transformed  himself  from  a  dragon  into  a 
beast.  That  is  not  a  fit  symbol  for  an  empire 
dominated  by  the  spirit  of  Christ.  A  beast  can  only 
symbolize    a    government    that    is    fierce,    cruel    and 

232 


THE    WILD    BEASTS 


voracious;  fighting  with  ferocity,  and  destroying 
all  other  beasts.  The  real  inward  character  of 
the  empire  was  not  materially  bettered  by  being 
a  "beast"  from  v/hat  it  was  when  it  could  be 
described  as  a*  "dragon."  Its  outward  appearance, 
only,  had  been  changed  in  some  respects.  Professed 
Christian  Rome  was  ruled  by  the  same  power  and 
authority,  and  from  the  same  throne,  for  all  of 
these  had  been  given  to  the  beast  by  the  dragon. 
When  the  "heads"  of  this  Christian  beast  had  the 
diadems  removed,  there  were  found  upon  them 
"names  of  blasphemy."  The  Scriptural  meaning 
of  blasphemy  is  the  arrogation  of  divine  preroga- 
tives or  nature  by  man.  "The  Jews  answered  him, 
For  a  good  work  we  stone  thee  not,  but  for  blas- 
phemy ;  and  because  that  thou,  being  a  man,  makest 
thyself  God"  (John  10:33).  The  pretending  to  be 
as  God,  and  demanding  the  worship  of  others  or 
claiming  to  exercise  divine  power,  constitute  blas- 
phemy. 

These  were  the  notorious  claims  of  the  rulers 
of  the  empire  from  ancient  times.  Even  the  pro- 
fessed Christian  emperors  assumed  to  dominate  the 
visible  church,  and  by  the  authority  of  their  office 
would  assemble  councils  and  dominate  them.  Earthly 
kings  still  strive  to  maintain  the  doctrine  of  "the 
divine  right  of  kings,"  which  is  essentially  blas- 
phemous. 

The  inward  spiritual  unity  of  this  beast,  with  all 
of  the  other  governments  which  had  preceded  it,  is 
clearly  brought  out  in  the  description  of  its  com- 
posite character.     It  "was  like  unto  a  leopard,  and 

233 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

his  feet  were  as  the  feet  of  a  bear,  and  his  mouth 
as  the  mouth  of  a  lion."  In  the  seventh  chapter  of 
Daniel  we  have  the  three  world-kingdoms  which  had 
preceded  the  Roman  Empire,  described  by  the  term 
"beasts."  Babylon  was  represented  by  a  lion, 
Medo-Persia  by  a  bear,  and  Greece  by  a  leopard. 
The  characteristics  of  all  of  these  idolatrous  and 
pagan  kingdoms  are  preserved  and  combined  in  this 
beast  which  represents  the  professed  Christian  em- 
pire beginning  with  Constantine.  Contrary  to  the 
common  notion  that  Christianity  had  achieved  a 
mighty  victory  in  its  conquest  of  Rome,  the  Scrip- 
ture reveals  the  fact  that  it  had  only  played  into 
Satan's  hand  and  made  a  long  stride  toward  its 
complete  perversion.  The  true  nature  of  the  pro- 
fessed Christian  empire  could  only  be  described  by 
saying  that  it  manifested,  combined,  the  character- 
istics of  the  ancient,  cruel,  bloodthirsty  pagan  mon- 
archies that  had  trampled  down  God's  chosen  people 
in  the  centuries  gone  by. 

Babylon  means  confusion,  and  it  is  a  remarkable 
fact  that,  in  this  beast  of  John,  the  particular  por- 
tion of  the  lion  that  represented  Babylon  and  was 
preserved,  was  its  "mouth."  The  teaching  of  this 
composite  beast  would  be  Babylonian  because  it 
must  speak  with  the  "lion's  mouth."  It  does  not 
take  long  under  such  conditions  for  the  religious 
world  to  be  filled  with  confusion,  and  a  modern 
spiritual  Babylon  established.  He  also  manifested 
the  cruel  characteristics  of  the  bear  and  the  leopard. 
The  ten  horns  which  are  component  parts  of  this 
beast  tnust  necessarily  partake  of  its  life  and  true 

234 


THE    WILD    BEASTS 


nature.  They  are,  therefore,  all  of  them  professedly 
Christian,  but  the  same  devilish  spirit  is  incarnate 
in  them  and  dominates  them.  They  call  themselves 
Christian  nations,  even  at  the  present  time,  while 
they  are  drenching  the  countries  with  the  life-blood 
of  mankind.  John  gives  a  further  description  of 
this  beast  and  his  history  in  the  succeeding  verses: 

"And  /  saw  one  of  his  heads  as  though  it  had  been  smit- 
ten unto  death ;  and  his  death-stroke  was  healed :  and  the 
whole  earth  wondered  after  the  beast;  and  they  worshipped 
the  dragon,  because  he  gave  his  authority  unto  the  beast ;  and 
they  worshipped  the  beast,  saying.  Who  is  like  unto  the 
beast?  and  who  is  able  to  make  war  with  him?"  (Rev.  13: 
3.4). 

When  Rome  laid  aside  her  pagan  garments  and 
posed  before  the  world  as  a  Christian  nation,  she 
was  under  her  seventh  *'head"  or  form  of  govern- 
ment. This  is  the  one  that  receives  the  death-stroke. 
This  would  indicate  that  this  monarchy  received  a 
blow  that  ordinarily  would  have  meant  death  to  it. 
This  occurred  when  the  western  empire  was  over- 
thrown by  the  barbarians  under  Odoacer  in  476 
A.  D.  Ordinarily,  Roman  customs  and  laws  would 
have  given  place  to  those  of  the  conquerors,  as  was 
done  when  Constantinople  was  captured  by  the 
Turks,  but  it  was  not  so  at  this  time.  Rome  lived 
on.  Its  laws  were  not  changed  in  any  vital  particu- 
lar. The  barbarian  conqueror  came  under  the  spell 
of  a  mysterious  power  that  is  described  later  in  the 
chapter,  and  he  also  professed  to  be  Christian.  This 
beast,  which  has  so  many  satanic  characteristics, 
and  which  received  its  authority  and  throne   from 

235 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

the  Devil   in   the   form  of   a   dragon,   continues   its 
existence  as  before.     The  political  catastrophe  had 

no  effect  upon  the  character  of  the  beast. 

Religion  was,  after  this,  in  a  state  of  great  con- 
fusion. "The  whole  earth  wondered  after  the 
beast,"  and  they  worshiped  the  dragon  and  the 
beast.  The  worship  was  a  mixture  of  paganism 
and  the  kind  of  Christianity  represented  by  the 
beast.  This  extended  throughout  the  "whole  earth" ; 
that  is,  the  entire  empire.  Idolatrous  practices  were 
substituted  for  those  of  Christianity.  Faith  was 
divorced  from  morals,  and  the  last  trace  of  the 
primitive  simplicity  of  the  New  Testament  disap- 
peared from  the  earth  by  (^6  A.  D.  The  authority 
of  the  bishop  of  Rome  was  largely  increased  by 
Emperor  Justinian  conferring  upon  him  authority 
as  "the  head  of  all  the  Holy  Churches  and  all  the 
Holy  Priests  of  God,"  in  533  A.  D.  By  the  year 
(}^  A.  D.  the  bishop  had  gained  such  power  that 
he  was  not  only  the  head  of  the  churches,  but  he 
dominated  the  western  division  of  the  empire  as  well. 
This  was  the  stage  v/hen  the  ''beast"  was  given 
"a  mouth  speaking  great  things  and  blasphemies; 
and  there  was  given  to  him  authority  to  continue 
forty  and  two  months"  (v.  5).  Forty  and  two 
months  equal  1.260  prophetic  days,  or  1,260  years. 
This  is  the  period  that  is  given  unto  him  in  which 
to  pose  in  the  role  of  divinity.  It  begins  with 
666  A.  D.,  and  will  end,  therefore,  in  1926  A.  D., 
when  the  mask  will  be  torn  from  his  face  and  he 
will  stand  revealed  in  all  of  his  hideous,  blasphemous 
nature.     The  oneness  of  the  Papal  form  of  govern- 

236 


THE    WILD    BEASTS 


ment  with  that  of  the  other  forms  that  preceded  it 
is  manifest,  for  it  is  professed  Christian  Rome  in 
the  form  of  a  seven-headed,  ten-horned  monster  that 
continues,  after  he  commences  his  blasphemies,  for 
1,260  years.  Every  schoolboy  knows  that  the 
Papacy  was  developed  shortly  after  the  downfall 
of  Rome  in  476  A.  D.,  and  has  continued  to  rule 
over  the  kings  of  the  earth  ever  since.  It  pretends 
to  be  a  religious  institution,  but  the  seer  of  Patmos 
reveals  the  fact  that  it  is  nothing  different  from 
the  political  empire  ruled  over  by  professed  Chris- 
tian emperors  and  their  pagan  predecessors,  for  it 
is  but  the  continuation  of  the  beast,  with  all  of  its 
Satanic  characteristics.  It  is  the  same  cruel,  blood- 
thirsty, beastly  power  that  had  ruled  from.  Rome 
during  the  centuries  preceding.  The  essential  differ- 
ence that  characterizes  the  Papal  power  is  that  it 
is  guilty  of  outrageous  blasphemies.  The  popes  and 
the  priesthood  claimed  divine  prerogatives,  and 
received  from  their  dupes  the  adoration  that  was 
due  to  God  and  his  Son.  The  usual  formula  of 
investiture  with  the  Papal  tiara  was,  "Receive  this 
triple  crown,  and  know  that  thou  art  the  father  of 
princes,  and  the  king  and  ruler  of  the  world."  At 
the  coronation  of  Innocent  X.,  Cardinal  Colonna, 
on  his  knees  and  in  behalf  of  himself  and  the  clergy, 
addresses  these  words  to  the  Pope:  "Most  holy  and 
blessed  father,  head  of  the  church  and  ruler  of  the 
world,  to  whom  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
are  committed,  whom  the  angels  in  heaven  revere, 
and  the  s:ates  of  hell  fear,  and  all  the  world  adores, 
we  specially  venerate,  worship  and  adore  thee/' 

237 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

"And  it  was  given  unto  him  to  make  war  with  the  saints, 
and  to  overcome  them :  and  there  was  given  to  him  authority 
over  every  tribe  and  people  and  tongue  and  nation.  And  all 
that  dwell  on  the  earth  shall  worship  him,  every  one  whose 
name  hath  not  been  written  from  the  foundation  of  the  world 
in  the  book  of  life  of  the  Lamb  that  hath  been  slain.  If  any 
man  hath  an  ear,  let  him  hear.  If  any  man  is  for  captivity, 
into  captivity  he  goeth  :  If  any  man  shall  kill  with  the  sword, 
with  the  sword  must  he  be  killed.  Here  is  the  patience  and 
faith  of  the  saints"  (Vs.  7-10). 

Not  only  did  the  Papacy  become  a  blaspheming 
power,  pretending  to  be  as  God,  but  for  centuries 
it  ruled  over  the  kings  of  the  earth  and  over  the 
consciences  of  men  with  a  sway  as  absolute  and 
universal  as  that  of  any  monarchy  that  ever  existed. 
The  popes  assumed  the  heathen  title  of  "Pontifex 
Maximus,"  that  had  been  renounced  by  the  pro- 
fessed Christian  emperors  in  375  A.  D.  Kings 
received  their  crowns  from  the  Pope,  and  according 
to  his  will.  During  the  centuries  following  666 
A.  D.,  while  the  Papal  power  was  in  the  ascendency, 
the  bitterest  and  most  relentless  persecutions  were 
inflicted  upon  mankind.  The  most  horrible  and 
excruciating  tortures  that  could  be  invented  by  the 
Satanic  mind  were  inflicted  upon  harmless  and 
defenseless  Christians.  That  long,  dark  night  of 
Papal  rule  was  made  one  of  terror  by  the  shrieks 
of  unnumbered  thousands  of  men  and  women  and 
children  as  they  were  torn  asunder  on  the  damnable 
instruments  of  Romish  torture  or  burned  alive  at 
the  stake. 

Laws  were  enacted  by  the  councils,  under  the 
direction  of  the  popes,   that  the   work  of  extermi- 

238 


THE    WILD    BEASTS 


nation  of  the  saints  might  be  carried  on  systemati- 
cally. In  the  fourth  Ecumenical  Council,  Pope 
Innocent  III.  legislated  as  follows: 

"Let  the  secular  rulers  be  warned,  and,  if  necessary,  com- 
pelled by  ecclesiastical  censures  to  take  a  public  oath,  to  do 
ail  in  their  power  to  exterminate  heretics  who  shall  have  been 
designated  so  by  the  church.  This  oath  every  man  shaTl  be 
obliged  to  take  who  enters  upon  any  office  of  civil  power, 
whether  the  office  be  for  life  or  for  a  limited  time.  And  if 
a  secular  ruler,  after  due  warning  by  the  church,  neglects  to 
purge  his  territory  from  the  filth  of  heresy,  let  him  be  ex- 
communicated by  the  metropolitan  archbishop  and  the  bishops 
of  the  province,  .  .  .  and  the  Supreme  Pontiff  may  de- 
clare the  ruler's  subjects  absolved  from  their  allegiance,  and 
his  territory  open  to  seizure  by  Catholics,  who  shall  possess 
it  absolutely." 

"Catholics  who  engage  in  a  crusade  for  the  extermination 
of  heretics  shall  be  granted  that  indulgence  and  that  holy 
privilege  which  are  bestowed  upon  Crusaders  to  the  Holy 
Land." 

"Priests  must  refuse  the  sacraments  to  such  pestilential 
wretches  [the  rulers  and  officers  who  fail  to  exterminate 
heretics],  deny  them  Christian  burial,  and  scorn  to  take  their 
alms  and  offerings.  Should  any  priest  act  contrary,  he  is  to 
be  deprived  of  his  office,  and  never  restored  to  it  without  a 
special  indult  of  the  Apostolical  See." 

"We  will,  decree,  and  strictly  command,  that  in  the  exe- 
cution of  these  laws,  bishops  be  diligent  and  vigilant.  If 
they  are  not  so,  canonical  penalties  await  them.  Should  any 
bishop  be  negligent  or  lax  in  purging  his  diocese  of  the 
leaven  of  heretical  wickedness,  he  shall  be  deposed  from  the 
episcopal  office  and  another  put  in  his  place  who  is  both  able 
and  willing  to  destroy  heresy." — Letters  to  His  Holiness, 
Pope  Pius  X.,  pp.  18-23. 

These  laws  are  interesting  because  they  indicate 
the   absolute   sway   of  the   Papacy   as   fulfilling  the 

239 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

prophetic  record  of  John.  The  Pope  commands 
kings  and  rulers  to  carry  out  his  will  in  extermi- 
nating all  of  those  who  worship  God  and  do  not 
accept  the  pretensions  of  the  Papacy.  With  devilish 
cunning  he  wreaks  vengeance  upon  every  secular 
officer,  priest  or  bishop  who  fails  to  kill.  History 
reveals  the  fact  that  the  Papacy  did  use  the  power 
that  was  given  unto  it,  so  systematically  that 
probably  fifty  million  of  the  saints  have  perished 
since  it  began  its  persecutions.  The  voice  of  the 
blood  of  the  martyred  saints  cries  out  from  the 
valleys  of  the  Alps,  and  from  all  of  Europe,  to 
Jehovah  for  judgment  upon  this  Satanical  impostor 
in  the  form  of  the  persecuting,  blasphemous  beast. 
John  makes  a  most  startling  statement  concern- 
ing those  who  worship  this  Papal  monster.  All 
whose  names  have  "not  been  uyritten  from  the  foun- 
dation of  the  world  in  the  book  of  life  of  the  Lamb 
that  hath  been  slain,"  worship  this  monstrous  power. 
The  devotees  of  the  Papacy  are  but  worshipers  of 
the  modem  Baal,  and  as  such  could  not  have  their 
names  written  on  the  book  of  life.  Protestantism 
has  a  fearful  responsibility  placed  upon  it  to  cry 
aloud  to  the  millions  of  ignorant  worshipers  at  the 
feet  of  the  Pope,  and  warn  them  of  their  danger, 
saying,  "Come  out  of  her,  my  people,  that  ye  be 
not  partaker  of  her  iniquities."  The  judgments  of 
God  will  be  visited  upon  the  Papacy.  It  has  led 
captive  the  nations  of  earth,  and  they  have  become 
slaves.  It  shall  therefore  go  "into  captivity."  It 
has  killed  with  the  sword,  and  "with  the  sword  it 
must  be  killed." 

240 


THE    WILD    BEASTS 


The    prophet    has     continued 
Two-horned  ^^^  ^.^^^^^   ^^  ^^^  seven-headed, 

*^^*  ten-horned   beast,    from   the   time 

that  he  first  saw  him  until  he  is  killed  with  the 
sword,  to  indicate  that  all  authority  and  power 
that  is  exercised  from  Rome  is  essentially  the  same, 
and  is  from  the  same  origin.  Paganism  dominated 
"the  empire  in  John's  day  and  was  the  antagonist 
of  the  woman  and  her  seed  at  the  beginning  of  her 
career.  This  religious  system  he  identifies  with  the 
Devil  and  Satan.  This  pagan  government  became 
the  professed  Christian  empire  in  324  A.  D.,  which 
ruled  with  all  of  the  authority  and  power  that  was 
given  to  it  by  the  dragon.  It  was  essentially  just 
as  Satanic  as  was  the  dragon  power  that  preceded 
it.  There  was  only  a  partial  change  in  its  outward 
appearance.  This  form  continued  unchanged  until 
the  beast  received  its  "death-stroke."  This,  even, 
did  not  aflfect  the  nature  of  the  beast,  for  its 
wound  was  healed  and  it  continued  having  the 
same  nature  during  the  centuries. 

The  prophet  now  reveals  the  forces  that  were 
at  work,  and  that  developed  the  earthly  government 
into  a  blasphemous  power  of  universal  extent.  A 
two-horned  beast  appears  and  is  contemporary  with 
the  first  beast  after  his  wound  was  healed  in  476 
A.  D.  The  origin  of  this  two-horned  beast  was  the 
"earth";  that  is,  it  developed  within  the  professed 
Christian  empire.  It  was  a  religious  beast,  for  it 
appeared  in  the  form  of  a  lamb.  It  would  imitate 
the  Lamb  of  God.  Its  power  is  exercised  as  if  in 
the  name  of  Christ.     It  speaks  like  a  dragon.     Its 

16  241 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

teaching  is  pagan  and  devilish.  This  is  the  means 
by  which  it  exercises  its  power.  It  enslaves  the 
world  through  false  teaching.  It  had  two  horns. 
These  were  the  two  divisions  of  his  power.  This 
describes,  with  all  of  the  accuracy  of  detail,  the 
religious  condition  of  the  empire  between  476  A.  D. 
and  666  A.  D. 

As  early  as  425  A.  D.,  Valentian  III.  had 
decreed  that  all  bishops  of  the  western  empire 
should  obey  the  bishop  of  Rome.  This  decree  com- 
pletely established  the  supremacy  of  the  Roman 
bishop.  This  supremacy  was  bolstered  up  by  two 
claims  that  began  to  be  made:  first,  that  the  apostle 
Peter  established  the  church  at  Rome,  and  that  its 
bishop  was  his  lawful  successor,  exercising  all  the 
authority  that  Christ  conferred  upon  that  apostle ; 
second,  that  when  Constantine  removed  his  capital 
to  Constantinople,  Rome  and  its  territory  had  been 
donated  to  the  bishop  by  him.  Thus,  his  pretensions 
to  both  spiritual  and  temporal  authority  developed 
with  the  passing  years.  Another  circumstance  con- 
tributed to  the  development  of  these  two  horns. 
The  incapacity  of  the  emperors  gave  the  bishops 
many  opportunities  in  politics,  even  to  treating  with 
the  barbarians  who  invaded  Italy.  Leo  the  Great 
treated  with  Attila  the  Hun,  and  kept  him  from 
attacking  the  city.  Again,  when  the  Vandals 
swooped  down  upon  the  city,  Leo  was  sent  to  make 
terms  with  him.  Gibbon  describes  the  situation  of 
this  period  in  these  words: 

"Their  temporal  power  insensibly  arose  from  the  calami- 
ties of  the  times,  and  the  Roman  bishops,  who  have  deluged 

242 


THE   WILD    BEASTS 


Europe  and  Asia  with  blood,  were  compelled  to  reign  as  min- 
isters of  charity  and  peace  ["looked  like  a  lamb"].  The 
church  of  Rome,  as  it  has  formerly  been  observed,  was  en- 
dowed with  ample  possessions  in  Italy,  Sicily  and  the  more 
distant  provinces;  and  her  agents,  who  were  commonly  sub- 
deacons,  had  acquired  a  civil,  and  even  criminal,  jurisdiction 
over  their  tenants  and  husbandmen.  .  .  .  The  rents  or 
the  produce  of  these  estates  were  transported  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Tiber.  .  .  .  The  misery  of  the  times  had  reduced 
the  nobles  and  matrons  of  Rome  to  accept,  without  a  blush, 
the  benevolence  of  the  church.  .  .  .  The  misfortunes  of 
Rome  involved  the  apostolical  pastor  in  the  business  of  peace 
and  war ;  and  it  might  be  doubtful  to  himself,  whether  piety 
or  ambition  prompted  him  to  supply  the  place  of  his  absent 
sovereign." — Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,  Vol. 
IV.,  pp.  47,  48. 

Thus  we  have  a  brief  description,  by  the  secular 
historian,  of  the  development  of  the  religious  beast 
until  Gregory  "supplied  the  place  of  his  absent 
sovereigTi"  and  exercised  "all  the  authority"  of  that 
sovereign.  The  bishops  had  deceived  by  their  false 
claims  to  spiritual  and  temporal  power,  by  their 
charities,  by  false  miracles  worked  to  impose  upon 
the  ignorant  multitudes,  until,  by  the  death  of 
Gregory  in  604  A.  D.,  the  bishop  was  both  the 
spiritual  and  temporal  ruler  of  the  western  empire. 
It  only  remained  now  for  this  two-horned  political- 
religious   system   to   become  thoroughly  established. 

The  Image  of  the  "And  he  deceiveth  them  that  dwell 

Beast  °"   ^^^   earth   by   reason   of   the   signs 

which  it  was  given  him  to  do  in  the 
sight  of  the  beast;  saying  to  them  that  dwell  in  the  earth, 
that  they  should  make  an  image  to  the  beast  who  hath  the 
stroke  of  the  sword  and  lived.  And  it  was  given  unto  him  to 
give  breath  to  it,  even  to  the  image  of  the  beast,  that  the 

243 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

image  of  the  beast  should  both  speak,  and  cause  that  as  many 
as  should  not  worship  the  image  of  the  beast  should  be  killed" 
(vs.  14,  IS). 

The  two-horned  beast  that  looked  like  a  lamb 
developed  its  power  "in  the  sight  of  the  first  beast." 
That  is,  while  the  barbarian  conquerors  maintained 
a  semblance  of  the  Christian  empire,  the  bishops 
were  establishing  a  sway  over  the  people  that  over- 
shadowed that  of  the  emperors.  The  real  rulers 
of  Rome  were  now  the  so-called  successors  of  St. 
Peter.  The  secular  form  of  government  was  not 
changed,  but  was  simply  adopted  by  the  church. 
The  church's  organization  conformed  to  that  of  the 
Roman  Empire.  It  was  patterned  after  the  "beast" 
and  became  the  "image  of  the  beast."  Westerman, 
a  secular  historian,  bears  testimony  to  this  fact  in 
language  very  similar  to  that  of  the  apostle: 

"In  the  system  of  the  Roman  Empire,  as  it  existed  after 
the  reorganization  of  Diocletian  and  Constantine,  the  church 
found  a  model  of  efficient  administration,  the  general  plan  of 
which  it  closely  followed.  A  church  state  arose  within  the 
political  state  of  Rome  [t.  e.,  "the  earth"],  corresponding  to 
it  in  its  general  divisions  [an  image]  as  follows : 

The  World  Empire. 

City-state Municipal  officials. 

Province Governor. 

Diocese Vicarius. 

Empire Emperor. 

The  Universal  Church. 

City-state  church Bishop. 

Church  province Metropolitan. 

Church  Diocese Patriarch. 

Catholic  Church Bishop  of  Rome. 

244 


THE    WILD    BEASTS 


"Long  after  the  Roman  Empire  had  been  shattered,  its 
wonderful  organization  and  the  idea  of  the  unity  of  the  an- 
cient world  were  preserved  in  the  church.  Long  after  Rome 
had  lost  its  position  as  the  political  capital  of  the  world,  it 
still  retained  its  pre-eminence  as  the  religious  center  of  the 
Christian  world;  and  in  the  Catholic  Church  to-day  the 
organization  of  the  great  Romaft  Empire,  though  somewhat 
changed,  still  exists." — The  Story  of  the  Ancient  Nations, 
pp.  459,  460. 

Placing  the  thirteenth  chapter  of  Revelation  and 
this  testimony  of  Westerman  side  by  side,  we  find 
that  the  prophecy  of  the  seer  of  Patmos  was  accu- 
rately fulfilled  in  the  established  facts  of  history, 
and  that  the  Papacy  is  the  "image  of  the  beast." 
We  are  now  in  a  position  to  understand  how  the 
death-wound  of  the  seven-headed  beast  was  healed. 
It  was  through  the  connivance  and  power  of  the 
two-horned  religious  beast  that  it  and  the  church 
were  merged  together  under  a  common  form  of 
government,  with  the  bishops  at  the  head  instead  of 
emperors.  Through  the  machinations  of  the  clergy 
between  476  A.  D.  and  666  A.  D.,  the  empire, 
crushed  by  the  barbarians,  was  completely  revivi- 
fied. They  had  breathed  into  it  their  false  divine 
claims,  and  it  continued  its  life  history  in  the  Papal 
form.  Forty-two  prophetic  months,  or  1.260  years, 
is  its  allotted  period  of  existence.  This  will  come 
to  an  end  in  1926  A.  D.,  when  it  will  be  destroyed 
and  no  more  curse  the  earth  with  its  Satanic 
machinations. 

It  was  gfiven  unto  this  image  of  the  beast  "that 
he  should  both  speak,  and  cause  as  many  as  should 
not  worship  the  image  of  the  beast  to  be  killed." 

245 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

How  accurately  have  these  predictions  been  fulfilled 
in  the  Papacy.  The  Pope  has  always  claimed  to 
speak  with  divine  authority.  He  is  the  sole  inter- 
preter of  the  Scriptures,  and  when  he  speaks  upon 
any  subject  related  to  faith  and  morals,  he  is 
infallible,  according  to  his  devotees.  He  even 
assumes  to  set  aside  the  Scripture  and  substitute 
his  own  pronouncements.  The  history  of  more 
than  twelve  hundred  years  of  Papal  rule  shows  the 
complete  fulfillment  of  the  prediction  that  it  is 
the  purpose  of  the  Papacy  to  kill  all  that  do  not 
yield  to  it.  Space  would  fail  us  to  mention  the 
account  of  the  awful  persecutions  that  have  been 
visited  in  the  valleys  of  Piedmont,  and  against  the 
Waldenses,  and  during  the  Inquisition,  and  against 
the  Huguenots.  The  record  is  one  of  blood  and 
horror.  Nor  has  the  Papacy  changed  its  character. 
It  is  the  same  persecuting  power  to-day.  It  would 
put  every  Protestant  in  the  United  States  to  death 
if  it  could.  As  it  is,  the  old-time  hatred  for  heretics 
frequently  bursts  forth.  During  the  year  1915, 
thirteen  assaults  with  intent  to  kill  were  made  in 
different   parts    of    this    county    by    Papal    ruffians. 

Mark  of  the  "And  he  causeth  all,  the  small  and 

Beast  ^^^  great,  and  the  rich  and  the  poor, 

and  the  free  and  the  bond,  that  there 
be  given  them  a  mark  on  their  right  hand,  or  upon  their 
forehead ;  and  that  no  man  should  be  able  to  buy  or  sell, 
save  he  that  hath  the  mark,  even  the  name  of  the  beast  or 
the  number  of  his  name.  Here  is  wisdom.  He  that  hath 
understanding,  let  him  count  the  number  of  the  beast;  for  it 
is  the  number  of  a  man :  and  his  number  is  six  hundred  and 
sixty  and  six"  (vs.  16-18). 

246 


THE    WILD    BEASTS 


Again  the  Papacy  is  accurately  pointed  out.  It 
fulfills  every  detail  of  the  prophetic  description.  We 
take  a  passage  from  "Corpus  Juris,"  the  official 
law-book  of  the  Papacy:  "If  any  one  presumes  to 
keep  heretics  in  his  house  or  lands,  or  to  carry  on 
business  with  them,  he  is  to  be  excommunicated" 
(Decret  Greg.,  lib.  v.,  c-8).  It  is  a  statute  enacted 
by  the  decree  of  the  popes  that  no  business  be 
transacted  with  heretics,  and  it  is  the  policy  of  the 
Papal  government  to  bring  financial  ruin  upon  its 
opponents.  The  boycott  is  the  club  that  its  agents 
seek  to  use  against  men  and  institutions  that  are 
not  subservient  to  them.  In  any  community  where 
there  is  a  semblance  of  Catholic  strength,  this  club 
has  been  used.  It  is  held  over  the  public  press  so 
threateningly  that  but  few  periodicals  will  dare 
breathe  a  word  concerning  the  Papal  intrigues 
which  are  being  carried  on  to  the  detriment  of  the 
nation.  Business  men  are  being  hounded  by  Papal 
beggars  for  the  coffers  of  Rome,  and  if  they  do  not 
contribute  they  are  boycotted. 

The  "true  and  faithful"  are  designated  by  a 
sign  or  a  mark  that  is  placed  on  the  right  hand  or 
on  the  forehead.  It  was  a  brand  placed  upon  every 
one  that  was  a  servant  of  the  image  of  the  beast. 
The  Papacy  itself  can  tell  us  about  the  mark  or 
brand  that  it  uses  to  designate  its  worshipers  better 
than  any  one  else.  We  take  from  the  Papal  "Cate- 
chism" these  questions  and  answers : 

"Q.  Why  can  we  not  receive  Baptism,  Confirmation,  and 
Holy  Orders  more  than  once? 

"A.  We  cannot  receive  Baptism,  Confirmation  and  Holy 
247 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

Orders  more  than  once,  because  they  imprint  a  character  in 
the  soul. 

"Q.  What  is  the  character  which  these  Sacraments  im- 
print in  the  soul? 

"A.  The  character  which  these  Sacraments  imprint  in  the 
soul  is  a  spiritual  mark  which  remains  forever." 

The. first  one  of  the  sacraments  to  be  received  by 
an  individual  is  that  of  baptism,  and,  according  to 
the  teaching  of  the  "Catechism,"  a  mark  is  imprinted 
on  the  soul  that  remains  forever.  It  is  a  remarkable 
fact  that  it  was  not  until  after  the  establishment  of 
the  Papacy  that  any  change  was  made  in  the 
manner  of  baptism.  In  753  A.  D.,  while  in  exile. 
Pope  Stephen  said  it  would  be  permissible  to 
sprinkle  water  on  the  head  under  the  circumstances 
under  which  his  permission  was  asked,  but  it  was 
not  until  1311  A.  D.  that  this  practice  became  the 
subject  of  legal  enactment.  In  that  year  the 
sprinkling  of  water  upon  the  forehead  became  the 
legalized  act  of  baptism,  and,  therefore,  the  means 
of  imprinting  the  "mark"  upon  the  forehead.  If 
one  does  not  receive  that  "mark,"  he  can  not  be 
numbered  with  the  "Catholics,"  for,  according  to 
their  teaching,  "baptism  is  necessary  to  salvation," 
but  the  moment  the  "mark"  is  placed  on  the  fore- 
head, it  becomes  indelible  and  remains  forever. 
It  seems  that  some  did  not  receive  the  "mark  upon 
the  forehead,"  but  on  the  hand.  These,  therefore, 
could  not  be  classed  as  true  Catholics,  for  they  are 
required  to  receive  the  sacraments.  This  latter 
class  are  those  who  are  the  useful  tools  of  the 
Papacy,  though  not  actually  identified  with  it.    Their 

248 


THE   WILD    BEASTS 


hands  are  open  with  their  gifts  to  the  coffers  of 
Rome. 

The  "mark"  has  also  another  significance  than 
that  already  mentioned.  It  is  "the  name  of  the 
beast  or  the  number  of  his  name."  This  indicates 
that  those  who  have  the  mark  make  open  profession 
that  they  are  adherents  of  the  Papacy.  The  mark, 
also,  is  a  number.  It  is  the  number  of  a  man  as 
well  as  the  number  of  the  beast.  It  serves  not  only 
to  identify  the  worshipers  of  the  beast,  but  it 
identifies  the  beast  and  points  out  the  particular 
power  that  is  the  subject  of  this  prophecy.  John 
wrote  in  the  Greek  language,  and  the  name  must 
be  determined  by  the  numerical  value  of  the  letters 
of  the  Greek  alphabet.  The  name  that  meets  the 
requirements  of  this  number  is  Lateinos,  the  founder 
of  the  Latin  race:  L=30,  a=l,  t==300,  e=5,  i=10, 
n=50,  0=70,  s=200.  The  total  of  these  values  is 
666.  This  beast  is  a  Latin  beast.  In  663  A.  D., 
Pope  Vitelian  enjoined  the  exclusive  use  of  the 
Latin  language  in  worship  throughout  Christendom, 
and  thus  completed  and  unified  the  Latin  church  to 
begin  the  forty- two  months  of  its  blasphemous 
existence  in  666  A.  D. 


249 


CHAPTER   XIII. 
THE  DECLINE  OF  THE  PAPACY 

MORE  than  a  millennium  is  occupied  in  the 
history  recorded  in  the  thirteenth  chapter  of 
Revelation.  During  this  long  period  of  years  the 
"beast"  and  the  "image  of  the  beast"  held  absolute 
sway  over  mankind.  During  this  time  the  Roman 
Empire,  as  a  political  power,  disintegrated  and 
became  broken  up  into  ten  great  divisions.  Despite 
all  of  the  catastrophe  that  overwhelmed  her  in  this 
period,  Rome  never  completely  lost  her  supremacy 
as  the  capital  of  the  empire.  As  her  political  power 
declined,  a  paganized  religious  power,  having  the 
same  identical  form  of  organization,  developed  in 
inverse  ratio  and  dominated  the  ten  divisions  as 
effectually  as  if  the  empire  had  remained  a  political 
unit.  These  divisions  still  submitted  to  the  authority 
of  Rome  as  they  did  in  the  days  of  its  political 
power.  The  lifetime  of  this  "image  of  the  beast" 
has  already  been  determined.     It  is  1,260  years. 

During  the  period  of  the  development  of  the 
image  of  the  beast,  the  church  of  Christ  gradually 
declined  as  it  disappeared  in  the  wilderness,  until, 
in  6(i6  A.  D.,  it  was  completely  eclipsed  and  the 
Ho^ht  of  the  world  went  out.  For  more  than  eight 
centuries   mankind   was    enveloped    in    impenetrable 

250 


THE    DECLINE    OF    THE    PAPACY 

darkness,  and  the  Papal  power  was  not  questioned 
by  any  considerable  or  formidable  group  of  men. 
It  persecuted  at  will,  and  its  blasphemies  became 
more  pronounced  until,  at  the  close  of  the  fifteenth 
century,  they  had  reached  the  culmination  and  the 
f)opes  had  arrogated  to  themselves  all  of  the  func- 
tions of  God. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  the  supreme  court  of 
the  universe  assembled,  as  witnessed  by  Daniel  in 
his  visions  (Dan.  7:9-12),  and  the  decree  concern- 
ing the  Papal  government  was  issued  to  be  executed. 
The  decree  was  to  the  effect  that  the  dominion  of 
the  Papacy  should  be  gradually  lessened  and  con- 
sumed until  the  end  (Dan.  7:  26).  The  ten  divisions 
would  also  have  their  dominion  taken  away,  but 
not  by  a  wasting  process.  The  time  limit  given 
for  the  execution  of  the  divine  decree  against  the 
Papacy  and  against  the  ten  horns  was  a  "season 
and  a  time,"  or  450  years  (Dan.  7:12).  The 
series  of  visions  beginning  with  Rev.  14:1,  and 
continuing  to  the  end  of  the  nineteenth  chapter, 
describes  the  events  connected  with  the  decline  of 
the  Papacy,  and  they  cover  a  period  of  450  years. 

In  chapter  14  the  prophet  is  privileged  to  survey 
in  outline  the  principal  events  that  have  to  do  with 
the  overthrow  of  the  apostate  church,  until  its  end 
is  complete  and  the  kingdom  of  Christ  is  established. 
This  chapter  serves  the  same  purpose  as  the  head- 
lines of  a  newspaper  at  the  beginning  of  an  article. 
In  the  headlines,  the  most  salient  features  of  the 
article  are  briefly  stated.  In  this  chapter  the  most 
important   events    of   the    following   450   years   are 

201 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

briefly  outlined,  leaving  the  remaining  chapters  to 
fill  in  the  details. 

In  the  seventh  chapter  of  Revelation  we  have 
an  account  of  the  sealing  of  the  one  hundred  and 
forty- four  thousand.  This  is  not  to  be  taken  liter- 
ally, for  it  is  the  mystical  number  representing  the 
redeemed  of  spiritual  Israel  up  to  the  time  of  the 
complete  disappearance  of  the  church  in  the  wilder- 
ness, for  it  is  said  "to  be  the  firstfruits  unto  God 
and  unto  the  Lamb"  (Rev.  14:4).  They  are  more 
particularly  described  as  not  having  been  "defiled 
with  women ;  for  they  are  virgins."  Spiritual 
fornication  is  the  departure  from  the  true  faith  and 
worship.  "How  is  the  faithful  city  become  a 
harlot!  she  that  was  full  of  justice!  righteousness 
lodged  in  her,  but  now  murderers"  (Isa.  1:21). 
These  one  hundred  and  forty-four  thousand  had 
preserved  the  true  faith  and  Christian  standards  of 
living,  although  apostasy  was  prevalent  about  them. 
The  special  period  of  sealing  is  definitely  marked 
as  occurring  while  the  four  winds,  or  the  barbarian 
invasions,  were  being  restrained  (Rev.  7:1-3). 
This  extends  from  313  A.  D.  until  the  invasion  by 
the  Goths,  410  A.  D. 

Now  we  have  the  answer  to  that  familiar  ques- 
tion, "Are  the  dead  alive?"  More  than  a  millen- 
nium has  passed  by  since  the  host  of  the  sealed 
received  their  robes  of  spotless  white.  During  these 
centuries  truth  and  righteousness  had  been  crushed 
to  the  earth  beneath  the  heel  of  the  apostate  Papal 
power,  but  when  the  decrees  of  the  divine  assize 
are  determined  upon  between  1453  A.  D.  and  1518 

262 


THE   DECLINE    OF   THE    PAPACY 

A.  D.,  they  lift  their  voices  in  a  glad  new  song. 
A  bright  new  day  is  about  to  dawn  upon  the  world. 
None  of  those  living  had  ever  heard  of  Papal  pre- 
tensions being  seriously  questioned  before,  so  that 
the  glad  song  of  the  redeemed,  betokening  the  end 
of  the  night  of  apostasy,  could  not  be  understood 
by  man.  They  stand  with  the  Lamb  on  Mount 
Zion.  The  writer  of  the  Hebrew  letter  makes  this 
a  figure  representing  the  "church  of  the  firstborn." 
"But  ye  are  come  unto  mount  Zion,  and  unto  the 
city  of  the  living  God,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem, 
and  to  innumerable  hosts  of  angels,  to  the  general 
assembly  and  church  of  the  firstborn"  (Heb.  12: 
22,  23).  It  is  now  a  time  of  rejoicing  for  the 
church.  The  time  of  its  deliverance  approaches  as 
the  decrees  of  divine  judgment  begin  to  be  executed 
upon  the  blasphemous  enemy  of  the  saints. 

Reformation  "^^^  I  saw  another  angel  flying  in 

mid  heaven,  having  eternal  good  tid- 
ings to  proclaim  unto  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth,  and  unto 
every  nation  and  tribe  and  tongue  and  people ;  and  he  saith 
with  a  great  voice,  Fear  God,  and  give  him  glory;  for  the 
hour  of  his  judgment  is  come:  and  worship  him  that  made 
the  heaven  and  the  earth  and  sea  and  fountains  of  waters" 
(Rev.  14:6,  7). 

The  first  shock  that  was  received  by  the  Papacy 
was  that  inflicted  by  Martin  Luther  and  his  con- 
temporaries in  the  Reformation,  beginning  1518 
A.  D.  The  events  that  characterized  this  mighty 
religious  movement  out  of  Rome  accurately  fulfill  the 
prophetic  details  given  here.  The  Bible  was 
unchained  and  its  precious  truths  began  to  be  made 

253 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

known  to  mankind.  Luther  boldly  flung  out  the 
challenge  to  the  world  to  worship  God  instead  of 
the  Pope.  In  1520  A.  D.  he  published  the  "Baby- 
lonish Captivity  of  the  Church."  This  was  the 
first  serious  attack  upon  the  pretensions  of  the 
Papal  imposture  that  had  ever  been  made.  Rome 
trembled  and  began  to  thunder  forth  anathemas 
against  the  intrepid  messengers  of  the  new  era. 
Every  effort  was  put  forth  to  crush  the  rising 
movement,  but  without  the  success  of  former  days. 
Here,  decline  had  now  begun  as  had  been  decreed 
by  divine  judgment.  In  1648  A.  D.  the  German 
Government  recognized  and  supported  the  reformed 
faith  by  the  conclusion  of  the  Peace  of  Westphalia. 
The  Papal  dominion  was  definitely  weakened  by  the 
multitudes  who  had  renounced  the  popes  and  their 
pretensions  during  the  intervening  years. 

The    next    salient    feature    in 
^  *^  the     decline    of    the     Papacy    is 

found  in  the  wave  of  infidelity  that  swept  over 
Europe,  beginning  about  1750  A.  D.  and  culmi- 
nating in  the  French  Revolution  and  the  events 
following.  The  apostate  church  was  unable  to 
resist  the  mighty  forces  of  discontent  that  seemed 
to  eather  in  a  great  storm-cloud  at  this  time.  In 
1793  A.  D.,  France  dethroned  Catholicism  and 
established  the  worship  of  Reason  in  its  stead.  In 
1798  A.  D.,  Pope  Pius  VI.  was  taken  prisoner  by 
Napoleon  and  carried  to  France.  The  prestige  and 
dominion  of  the  Papacy  had  received  another 
crushing  blow  that  it  could  not  recover  from.  It 
could  never  inspire  abject  fear  again. 

254 


THE    DECLINE    OF    THE    PAPACY 

-.  The  voice  of  the  third  angel 

p  ,  of   doom   is   being   heard   at   the 

present  time.  The  year  1870 
A.  D.  marks  the  end  of  the  Papal  pretension  to 
temporal  power.  It  was  in  that  year  that  the  Papal 
states  ceased  to  exist,  and  the  Pope's  temporal 
power  was  limited  to  the  confines  of  the  Vatican. 
Here  he  secludes  himself,  pretending  to  be  a  pris- 
oner. The  civilized  nations,  however,  still  continue 
to  recognize  him  as  a  sovereign  by  receiving  his 
ambassadors  at  their  capitals  and  by  having  accred- 
ited ambassadors  at  the  Vatican.  In  the  past  few 
years  there  has  been  a  steadily  rising  tide  of 
opposition  developing  to  his  fraudulent  claims.  The 
voices  of  the  apostles  unite  in  a  ringing  declaration 
that  the  race  will  soon  be  freed  from  the  Satanic 
claims  of  the  age-old  impostor.  He  himself  lighted 
the  fire  that  is  sweeping  the  nations  of  the  Old 
World  with  the  besom  of  destruction,  and  which 
shall  enwrap  his  own  city  with  a  seething  confla- 
gration. His  dominion,  as  well  as  his  followers, 
shall  be  engulfed  in  the  great  catastrophe  that  is 
shaking  the  thrones  of  the  ten  horns  of  the  old 
Roman  Empire.  That  secret  concordat  that  the 
Papacy  made  with  Servia  will  prove  to  be  its  own 
death-sentence. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  third  angel,  whose 
warning  is  sounding  at  the  present  moment,  an- 
nounces the  final  judgment  on  the  image  of  the 
beast  and  his  worshipers.  If  the  follovvcrs  of  the 
Pope  desire  to  escape  drinking  of  "the  wine  of  the 
wrath   of   God,"   they   should   renounce   the   Pope's 

255 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

authority  before  the  final  moment  comes  and  obey 
Christ  as  their  only  Lord.  The  angel  adds  a 
peculiar  comment  to  his  warning.  "Here  is  the 
patience  of  the  saints,  they  that  keep  the  command- 
ments of  God,  and  the  faith  of  Jesus"  (v.  12). 
The  moment  of  the  final  destruction  of  the  image 
of  the  beast  is  the  signal  of  the  victory  of  the 
saints.  Patiently  have  we  striven  to  obey  the  com- 
mandments of  God  as  revealed  in  the  Scripture, 
and  steadfastly  have  we  clung  to  the  simple  faith 
of  Jesus  as  preached  by  his  apostles,  although  the 
world  seems  to  be  rushing  to  ruin — heeding  nothing 
but  the  blandishments  of  the  apostate  power.  The 
significance  of  the  angel's  strange  comment  is  that 
the  suspense  of  the  saints  will  not  longer  be  delayed. 
As  soon  as  the  forces  that  were  set  in  motion  in 
1914  A.  D.  have  reached  their  culmination,  the  long- 
expected  exaltation  of  the  church  of  the  living  God 
will  take  place.  This  is  confirmed  by  the  voice 
that  speaks  from  heaven  at  the  same  time: 

First  Pesurrec-  "^"^  ^  ^^^^^  ^  ^°*^^  ^^^^  heaven 

tion  saying,   Write,    Blessed   are   the   dead 

who  die  in  the  Lord  from  henceforth: 

yea,  saith  the  Spirit,  that  they  may  rest  from  their  labors;  for 

their  works  follow  with  them"  (Rev.  14: 13). 

What  reason  is  there  for  the  blessedness  of  the 
sainted  dead  at  this  particular  time,  more  than  at 
any  former  time?  What  particular  reference  does 
the  death-struggle  of  the  Papacy  have  to  the 
blessedness  of  the  sleeping  followers  of  Christ? 
It  can  be  easily  seen  that  it  will  be  a  blessed  moment 
when  those  who  are  alive  realize  that  they  are  free 

2B6 


THE    DECLINE    OF    THE    PAPACY 

at  last  from  the  power  and  abominations  of  the 
monstrous  tyrant,  but  there  would  be  no  means  of 
knowing  why  the  dead  should  be  especially  happy 
at  this  time,  were  it  not  that  the  Scripture  answers 
the  question.  There  is  but  one  event  that  can  affect 
the  dead  in  any  way,  and  that  is  the  first  resurrec- 
tion, which  occurs  when  Jesus  comes  again.  "For 
the  Lord  himself  shall  descend  from  heaven,  with  a 
shout,  with  the  voice  of  the  archangel,  and  with 
the  trump  of  God:  and  the  dead  in  Christ  shall  rise 
first;  then  we  that  are  alive,  that  are  left,  shall 
together  with  them  be  caught  up  in  the  clouds,  to 
meet  the  Lord  in  the  air:  and  so  shall  we  ever  be 
with  the  Lord"  (1  Thess.  4:  16,  17).  This,  then,  is 
the  reason  why  "the  dead  who  die  in  the  Lord" 
are  blessed  now.  The  mighty  miracle  of  the 
resurrection  of  the  saints  is  about  to  occur  and 
we  lift  our  eyes  toward  heaven,  "and  behold,  a 
white  cloud;  and  on  the  cloud  /  saw  one  sitting 
like  unto  a  son  of  man,  having  on  his  head  a 
golden  crown,  and  in  his  hand  a  sharp  sickle" 
(Rev.  14:14). 

The  long-expected  event  is  now  occurring.  There 
is  the  Redeemer  coming  again  as  he  said:  "If  I 
go  away,  I  will  come  again  and  receive  you  unto 
myself"  (John  14:3).  He  is  wearing  a  crown. 
He  is  coming  as  a  king.  He  has  received  his 
kingdom  and  the  dominion  over  it  (Luke  19:15). 
The  great  voice  of  the  angel  out  of  the  temple  is 
heard  as  it  echoes  and  re-echoes  throughout  the 
world.  He  is  the  angel  of  the  seventh  trumpet.  He 
is  also  an  archangel   (1  Thess.  4:16).     "The  hour 

17  257 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

to  reap  has  come,"  and  "the  sickle  is  set  forth  into 
the  harvest."  It  is  the  hour  of  the  first  resurrection. 
It  is  the  time  of  the  dead.  "Blessed  are  the  dead 
who  die  in  the  Lord."  All  of  them  who  "sleep  in 
Jesus"  come  forth.  The  wicked  dead  are  undis- 
turbed at  this  time,  for  "the  rest  of  the  dead  lived 
not  until  the  thousand  years  should  be  finished" 
(Rev.  20:5).  Then  the  godly  who  are  alive 
experience  a  marvelous  translation  at  the  same 
moment.  "We  all  shall  not  sleep,  but  we  shall  all 
be  changed,  in  a  moment,  in  the  twinkling  of  an 
eye,  at  the  last  trump:  for  the  trumpet  shall  sound, 
and  the  dead  shall  be  raised  incorruptible,  and  we 
shall  be  changed"  (1  Cor.  15:51,  52).  It  will  be 
a  most  awe-inspiring  spectacle.  "Then  shall  two 
men  be  in  the  field;  one  is  taken,  and  one  is  left: 
two  women  shall  be  grinding  at  the  mill ;  one  is 
taken,  and  one  is  left"  (Matt.  24:40,  41).  The 
taken  ones  are  Christians.  The  last  follower  of 
Christ  has  been  translated,  and,  together  with  those 
who  have  been  raised,  is  lifted  out  of  and  above 
the   final   tribulation  of   earth. 

The     wheat     harvest     having 
Armageddon  ^^^^     ^^^^^^^     ^^^     ^^^     ^jp^^^^ 

grain  having  been  stored  away  in  the  Master's  gar- 
ner, the  time  of  the  tares  has  come.  The  time  of 
judgment  upon  those  who  have  refused  to  "obey  the 
gospel  of  Christ"  (2  Thess.  1:6-10).  The  troubles 
of  the  time,  as  indicated  in  Rev.  14:  17-20  by  the 
gathering  and  treading  of  the  harvest  of  grapes 
of  "the  vine  of  the  earth,"  will  be  the  bitterest 
that  have  ever  been  experienced  by  mankind.     The 

268 


THE    DECLINE    OF    THE    PAPACY 

fruit  that  is  crushed  is  gathered  from  the  "vine  of 
the  earth."  The  "true  vine"  is  Christ,  and  his  true 
disciples  are  the  branches,  but  this  is  the  "vine  of 
the  earth."  The  fruits  of  the  labors  of  all  men 
who  have  sought  to  attain  their  highest  good 
through  earthly  means  and  instrumentalities,  alone, 
and  not  through  Christ,  will  all  be  gathered  together 
and  trod  upon.  Political  parties,  rulers  and  kings 
will  be  humiliated,  as  well  as  those  who  have 
trusted  in  them  or  in  culture,  science  or  armaments. 
The  fruit  of  this  vine  proves  to  be  absolute  waste. 
When  it  is  crushed,  the  wine  flows  out  as  blood 
on  the  earth.  The  extent  of  this  stream  of  blood 
indicates  the  bitterness  of  the  calamity  that  has 
overtaken  the  world  at  this  time.  The  entire  fabric 
of  earthly  power  is  being  rent  and  torn. 

The  church  escapes  the  tribulation  of  this  dis- 
aster to  earthly  power,  for  the  grapes  are  trodden 
"without  the  city."  The  church  has  been  removed 
temporarily  from  the  earth.  There  will  not  be  a 
single  follower  of  Christ  in  the  world  during  the 
battle  of  Armageddon.  They  were  all  changed  at 
the  time  of  the  first  resurrection,  and  had  gone  to 
"meet  the  Lord  in  the  air."  We  have  here  a 
description  of  a  period  when  the  world  will  be 
without  the  church.  The  "two  witnesses  are  slain 
and  their  dead  bodies  lie  unburied  in  the  streets." 
The  evil  propensities  of  mankind  burst  forth  in  unre- 
strained fury.  The  "vine  of  the  earth,"  however, 
more  particularly  refers  to  the  counterfeit  of  the 
"true  vine."  The  Pope  claims  to  be  the  visible 
manifestation   or   representative  of  the   "true   vine" 

259 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

on  earth.  It  is  the  ripened  fruitage  of  that  Papal 
system  whose  branches  have  become  intertwined 
with  all  the  political  affairs  of  the  nations,  that  is 
crushed  in  the  winepress  of  the  wrath  of  God.  The 
result  is  a  mighty  stream  of  blood,  a  battle  described 
as  that  of  Armageddon. 

Thus  the  prophet  has  prepared  the  reader  for 
an  intelligent  understanding  of  the  subject-matter 
in  the  following  chapters  of  the  book,  by  giving  at 
once  brief  statements  concerning  the  principal  steps 
in  the  downfall  of  the  Papacy.  These  are  (1)  the 
Reformation;  (2)  the  wave  of  infidelity  and  the 
institution  of  the  worship  of  Reason,  as  well  as 
the  humiliation  of  the  Pope  by  Napoleon;  (3)  the 
great  struggle  between  the  ten  horns  of  the  beast, 
beginning  in  1914  A.  D. ;  the  first  resurrection  and 
the  translation  of  the  living  saints  in  connection 
with  the  second  coming  of  our  Lord ;  and  (4)  the 
battle  of  Armageddon. 

The    subject-matter   of   chap- 
Another  Sign  ^^^^    ^^   ^^    ^^^   inclusive,   will   fill 

in  the  outline  with  important  details,  explanatory 
of  such  events  as  may  need  amplification.  Rev. 
15:  1-4  describes  the  rejoicing  of  the  heavenly  hosts 
in  anticipation  of  the  beginning  of  the  systematic 
destruction  and  overthrow  of  the  iniquitous  Papal 
system  that  for  centuries  had  held  the  human  race 
in  thralldom  to  its  fraudulent  claims.  The  events 
that  follow  this  vision  are  identified  with  the  affairs 
of  the  dragon  and  the  woman,  by  the  prophet's 
reference  to  the  "seven  angels  having  the  seven 
plagues"    as    "another    sign    in    heaven."      At    the 

260 


THE    DECLINE    OF    THE    PAPACY 


beginning  of  the  twelfth  chapter  we  have  the  first 
"sign  in  heaven" — a  woman  arrayed  in  glorious 
apparel.  Following  this,  we  have  "another  sign 
in  heaven" — a  great  red  dragon.  Now  we  have 
"another  sign  in  heaven."  This  third  sign  is  to 
bring  the  strife  between  the  dragon  and  the  woman 
and  her  seed  to  a  culmination,  for  these  plagues 
are  the  last:  they  "finish  the  wrath  of  God."  These 
plagues  are  to  be  visited  upon  the  power  which 
has  trodden  down  the  "holy  city." 

These  angels  do  not  represent  agencies  of  the 
church,  for  they  come  forth  from  the  Holy  of 
Holies,  "the  tabernacle  of  the  testimony"  (vs.  5,  6). 
They  are  spirit  beings  from  the  very  presence  of 
God  to  visit  providential  judgments  upon  "earth," 
which  is  now  composed  of  ten  divisions  dominated 
by  the  Papacy.  The  time  of  their  appearance  is 
especially  noted.  It  is  following  "the  opening  of 
the  tabernacle  of  testimony" ;  that  is,  following  the 
promulgation  of  the  law  of  God  to  the  world  by 
Martin  Luther  and  his  colaborers. 

One  feature  is  to  be  especially 
osmg  o  noted  in  this  connection.  The 
moment  of  the  exit  of  the  "seven 
angels  having  seven  plagues,"  "the  temple  was 
filled  with  smoke  from  the  glory  of  God,  and  from 
his  power;  and  none  was  able  to  enter  into  the 
temple,  till  the  seven  plagues  of  the  seven  angels 
should  be  finished"  (v.  8).  The  temple  was  the 
place  of  intercession,  and  when  the  seven  angels 
started  on  their  mission  of  judgment,  the  time  for 
intercessory  prayer  that  the  plagues  might  be  stayed 

261 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

was  at  an  end,  for  "none  could  enter  into  the 
temple."  It  was  a  most  foolish  and  senseless  thing 
for  the  Christian  people  of  America  to  heed  the 
call  to  "pray  for  peace,"  issued  by  the  President  in 
1914  A.  D.,  for  none  can  approach  the  temple  until 
the  plagues  are  finished.  That  is  demonstrated  by 
the  fact  that  peace  did  not  come  in  answer  to  the 
combined  intercessions  of  the  professed  followers 
of  Christ.  God  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  their  mockery 
of  prayer;  the  war  continues  to  rage  with  relent- 
less fury,  and  the  very  participants  in  that  inter- 
cessory spectacle  are  crying  out  for  "preparedness 
for  war."  The  war  in  Europe  is  the  work  of  the 
seventh  and  last. angel,  and  all  the  prayers  of  earth 
and  heaven  will  not  stay  its  ravages  until  it  culmi- 
nates in  the  complete  destruction  of  the  dominion  of 
"the  beast  having  seven  heads  and  ten  horns." 
Any  cessation  of  this  struggle  will  be  brief.  Before 
this  plague  is  complete,  America  herself  shall  drink 
of  the  same  cup  of  wrath.  The  extent  of  this 
plague  which  has  been  poured  out  in  Europe  is 
described  by  Jeremiah  in  these  words: 

"And  all  the  kings  of  the  north,  far  and  near,  one  with 
another;  and  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  world,  which  are  upon 
the  face  of  the  earth:  and  the  king  of  Sheshach  shall  drink 
after  them.  .  .  .  And  it  shall  be,  if  they  refuse  to  take 
the  cup  at  thy  hand  to  drink,  then  shalt  thou  say  unto  them> 
Thus  saith  Jehovah  of  hosts ;  Ye  shall  surely  drink.  For. 
lo,  I  begin  to  work  evil  at  the  city  which  is  called  by  my 
name;  and  should  ye  go  utterly  unpunished?  Ye  shall  not 
be  unpunished ;  for  I  will  call  for  a  sword  upon  all  the  in- 
habitants of  the  earth,  saith  Jehovah  of  hosts"  (Jer.  25 : 
26,  28,  29). 

262 


THE  DECLINE  OF  THE  PAPACY  ^ 

These  statements  are  definite  and  clear.  All 
nations  shall  be  visited  by  the  sword,  and  shall 
drink  of  the  cup  of  wrath.  The  Jewish  people 
and  the  city  of  Jerusalem  were  visited,  and  that 
judgment  remains  as  a  warning  that  the  nations 
shall  not  escape  the  wrath  of  God.  Why  should 
America  be  thought  to  be  immune  from  the  general 
conflagration?  That  nation  which  has  gone  pleasure 
mad  and  money  mad;  that  nation  which  receives 
ambassadors  from  the  Papal  antichrist  and  winks 
at  the  political  crimes  committed  against  humanity 
by  his  minions — why  should  it  escape  punishment? 
God  challenges  the  sober  thought  to  the  catastrophe 
that  shall  surely  come.  During  the  past  two  years 
America  has  been  "drawing  back  and  refusing  to 
take  the  cup"  that  is  presented  her,  but  God's  word 
shall  not  fail.  Intercession  will  not  avert  the 
impending  doom,  for  "none  can  enter  the  temple." 
But  one  thing  can  save  America  from  the  plague, 
and  that  is  a  genuine  repentance  and  a  whole- 
hearted obedience  to  Christ.  "And  in  none  other 
is  there  salvation:  for  neither  is  there  any  other 
name  under  heaven,  that  is  given  among  men, 
wherein  we  must  be  saved"  (Acts  4:12).  Even 
this  will  only  avert  the  calamity  as  to  individuals, 
and  not  to  the  nation  as  an  earthly,  political  power. 
That  must  be  broken  and  crushed  that  the  kingdom 
of   Christ  may  be  established. 

John's  attention  is  now  drawn 

to  the  seven  angels  as  they  start 

out  upon  their  mission  of  judgment  at  the  command 

of  a   great  voice  out   of   the   temple   that   is   filled 

263 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

with  the  glory  of  God,  and  that  none  could  enter. 

"And  the  first  went,  and  poured  out  his  bowl  into  the 
earth;  and  it  became  a  noisome  and  grievous  sore  upon  the 
men  that  had  the  mark  of  the  beast,  and  that  worshipped  his 
image"  (Rev.  16:2). 

There  is  a  striking  analogy  between  the  work 
of  these,  and  the  seven  trumpet  angels  of  the 
eighth  and  ninth  chapters.  Although  they  are  differ- 
ent angels,  yet  both  companies  visit  the  same  locali- 
ties and  the  same  territory  (the  earth),  and  in  the 
same  order.  The  judgments  of  the  trumpet  angels 
were  visited  upon  the  Roman  Empire  as  an  earthly, 
political  government,  while  these  angels  visit  corre- 
sponding judgments  against  the  Roman  Empire  as 
separated  in  the  ten  divisions,  but  unified  by  the 
dominance  of  the  Papacy.  The  first  judgments  are 
against  Rome  in  the  form  of  a  "beast,"  and  cause 
its  downfall,  so  the  second  series  of  judgments  falls 
upon  Rome  as  the  "image  of  the  beast."  As  Papal 
Rome,  or  the  "image  of  the  beast,"  is  the  spiritual 
counterpart  of  the  political  empire,  so  the  judgments 
are  counterparts  and  follow  in  the  same  order. 

The  details  are  explicit.  The  bowl  is  poured 
out  upon  the  followers  of  the  Papacy.  "They  that 
worshipped  the  image."  Some  great  internal  infec- 
tion manifested  itself  in  a  grievous,  festering  ulcer. 
It  was  confined  to  one  spot,  although  its  extent  is 
not  indicated.  It  appears  in  some  part  of  the 
Catholic  world  after  the  "opening  of  the  tabernacle 
of  testimony,"  or  the  Reformation.  As  the  Papacy 
made  a  long  step  in  its  development  when  the 
bishop  of  Rome  was  declared  to  be  "the  head  of 

264 


THE    DECLINE    OF    THE    PAPACY 

all  the  Holy  Churches  and  of  all  the  Holy  Priests 
of  God"  in  533  A.  D.,  it  must,  1,260  years  from 
that  time,  make  a  correspondingly  long  step  in  its 
decline.  This  establishes  the  date  of  the  first 
catastrophe  that  hastens  its  downfall. 

Beginning  with  1750  A.  D.,  the  very  heart  of 
the  Catholic  empire  became  infected  with  blighting 
infidelity.  The  brightest  minds  of  Europe  were 
pouring  into  the  streams  of  Papal  life  their  most 
insidious  poison.  Among  these  men  might  be 
mentioned  the  names  of  Paine,  Voltaire,  Rousseau, 
Frederick  the  Great,  Bolingbroke,  Hume  and  Gib- 
bon. The  infection  gathered  strength  as  the  years 
passed  by,  and  brought  with  them  increasing  oppres- 
sion and  disregard  of  human  rights  until,  exactly 
on  time,  in  1793  A.  D.,  it  broke  out  in  the  grievous 
and  noisome  sore  of  unrestrained  anarchy.  The 
property  of  the  church  was  confiscated  and  used 
as  the  basis  of  national  credit.  The  worship  of 
Reason  was  declared  to  be  the  religion  of  France. 
So  terrible  were  the  experiences  of  that  three  and 
a  half  years  that  this  period  is  known  in  history  as 
the  "Reign  of  Terror."  Thousands  and  thousands 
of  people  were  slaughtered,  and  the  Papal  religion 
and  influence  were  weakened  to  a  notable  extent. 

Second  Plague  "And    the    second   poured    out   his 

bowl  into  the  sea ;  and  it  became  blood 
as  of  a  dead  man ;  and  every  living  soul  died,  even  the  things 
that  were  in  the  sea"  (Rev.  16:3). 

The  first  plague  affects  the  "earth,"  but  this 
one,  the  "sea."  It  will  have  a  larger  scope  than 
that  confined  to  the  ancient  territory  of  Rome  or 

265 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

that  controlled  by  the  Papacy.  Under  the  second 
trumpet  we  have  found  its  fulfillment  in  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  maritime  power  of  professed  Christian 
Rome  by  the  Vandals,  so  that  the  corresponding 
judgment  visited  upon  its  image  must  be  of  the 
same  general  import.  The  navies  of  the  Catholic 
nations  were  vital  to  the  maintenance  of  the  fraud- 
ulent dominion  of  the  Papacy.  These  were  a 
constant  threat  to  any  people  who  might  dare  to 
renounce  its  authority.  Spain  was  the  first  naval 
power,  then,  in  order,  Portugal  and  France.  In 
1793  A.  D.  began  the  struggle  between  Protestant 
England  and  the  Catholic  nations  for  the  mastery 
of  the  seas.  This  continued  until  1815  A.  D.,  on 
every  sea  and  in  every  clime.  At  its  conclusion 
the  Catholic  navies  were  shattered.  In  this  mighty 
contest,  two  hundred  ships  of  the  line  were  de- 
stroyed, and  about  four  hundred  frigates,  as  well 
as  all  of  the  smaller  ships  of  war  and  commerce. 
From  that  time  the  navies  of  the  Papacy  have  never 
been  a  threat  or  a  menace  to  a  Protestant  people. 
Dr.  Keith  says:  "The  whole  history  of  the  world 
does  not  present  such  a  period  of  naval  warfare, 
destruction  and  bloodshed." — Sig7is  of  the  Times, 
Vol.  11. ,  p.  209.  Truly,  every  ship  in  the  sea 
perished  and  it  became  as  the  blood  of  dead  men. 

Third  Plague  "And  the  third  poured  out  his  bowl 

into  the  rivers  and  the  fountains  of 
the  waters ;  and  it  became  blood.  And  I  heard  the  angel  of 
the  waters  saying,  Righteous  art  thou,  who  art  and  who  wast, 
thou  Holy  One,  because  thou  didst  thus  judge :  for  they 
poured  out  the  blood  of  saints  and  prophets,  and  blood  hast 

266 


THE    DECLINE    OF    THE    PAPACY 

thou  given  them  to  drink :  they  are  worthy.  And  I  heard  the 
altar  saying,  Yea,  O  Lord  God,  the  Almighty,  true  and  right- 
eous are  thy  judgments"  (Rev.  16:4-7). 

The  details  given  in  this  description  are  especially 
definite.  It  had  already  been  said,  "If  any  man 
shall  kill  with  the  sword,  with  the  sword  must  he 
be  killed"  (Rev.  13:10).  Any  one  familiar  with 
the  history  of  the  Papal  wars  would  know  at  once 
n  what  locality  the  just  retribution  for  their  mur- 
derous slaughters  would  be  visited.  In  the  valleys 
of  the  Alps,  where  the  fanatical  soldiers  of  the 
Pope  had  so  mercilessly  put  to  the  sword  unnum- 
bered thousands  of  the  saints,  would  be  the  only 
appropriate  place  where  the  Papal  adherents  could 
receive  retribution.  The  attack  upon  political  Rome 
was  also  made  here  under  the  third  trumpet  angel, 
so  that  the  corresponding  plague  of  this  third  angel 
against  its  image  must  fall  here.  The  angel  of  the 
waters  expressly  declares  that  this  plague  is  the 
retribution  of  divine  judgment,  visited  because  of 
the  slaughters  of  the  saints. 

In  1796  A.  D.  the  army  of  Napoleon,  amounting 
to  scarcely  thirty  thousand  men,  was  hovering  at 
the  base  of  the  Alps.  With  that  brilliant  courage 
that  characterized  him,  that  general  led  his  small 
army  into  the  valley  of  the  Savonna,  and  vanquished 
an  opposing  army  of  ninety  thousand  troops.  Here 
he  separated  the  armies  of  Sardinia  and  Austria. 
He  easily  defeated  the  army  of  Sardinians  and  then 
turned  his  attention  to  that  of  Austria.  Any  one 
reading  Mignet's  "History  of  the  French  Revolu- 
tion," beginning  with  page  326,  will  be  struck  with 

267 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

the  accuracy  with  which  Napoleon  fulfilled  the 
plague  of  the  third  angel.  His  battles  are  all  fought 
upon  the  rivers  of  the  Alps.  We  find  that  the  Po, 
the  Adda,  the  Leek,  the  Rhine  and  the  Bromidia 
are  all  mentioned  as  the  scenes  of  his  conquests. 
Within  one  year  Napoleon  had  entered  Rome  and 
compelled  the  Pope  to  pay  tribute  in  money,  and 
also  carried  away  such  masterpieces  of  art  as  he 
chose.  The  Papal  prestige  was  shattered  by  this 
defeat  of  Catholic  soldiers.  The  thunders  of  the 
Pope  will  never  excite  such  fear  among  men  after 
that  he  was  carried  away  a  prisoner  with  such 
impunity  by  the   spoiler   Napoleon. 

Fourth  Plague  "And  the  fourth  poured  out  his  bowl 

upon  the  sun ;  and  it  was  given  unto  it 
to  scorch  men  with  fire.  And  men  were  scorched  with  great 
heat:  and  they  blasphemed  the  name  of  God  who  hath  the 
power  over  these  plagues ;  and  they  repented  not  to  give  him 
glory"  (Rev.  16:8,9). 

The  pouring  out  of  this  bowl  did  not  result  in 
any  calamity  to  the  sun,  but  rather  in  increasing 
his  light  and  heat  and  power.  The  sun  is  the 
brightest  light  in  the  heavens  and  dominates  all 
of  the  celestial  system  of  which  it  is  the  center. 
Until  1798  A.  D.  the  Pope  of  Rome  was  the  sun 
of  the  Papal  empire.  He  dominated  the  kings  of 
the  earth  according  to  his  whim.  His  influence 
and  power  were  greater  than  those  of  any  other 
man.  He  was  the  center  and  ruler  of  the  Papal 
system.  When  he  was  taken  prisoner  by  Napoleon 
he  lost  his  position  as  a  sun,  and  that  brilliant 
soldier  became  the  most  brilliant  light  in   Europe. 

268 


THE    DECLINE    OF    THE    PAPACY 

As  th€  result  of  the  pouring  out  of  this  fourth 
bowl,  the  name  and  fame  of  the  conqueror  of 
Italy  became  increasingly  brilliant.  For  twenty 
years  he  was  engaged  in  ceaseless  war.  On  May 
26,  1805,  he  received  the  iron  crown  of  the  LxDm- 
bards  at  Milan.  Other  territory  was  rapidly  added 
to  his  empire.  Europe  was  aroused  at  the  successes 
of  this  mighty  conqueror,  and  was  turned  into  an 
armed  camp.  Within  four  days  after  Napoleon 
hurled  his  forces  against  the  Russian  and  Austrian 
armies  under  the  personal  leadership  of  their  respec- 
tive emperors,  they  were  cut  to  pieces  and  destroyed 
by  this  scorching  sun. 

As  the  armies  of  Napoleon  marched  through 
Europe  they  left  a  trail  of  devastation.  More  than 
two  million  men  perished  in  these  campaigns,  and 
the  field  of  warfare  became  a  vast  graveyard.  In 
1808  A.  D.,  Pope  Pius  VII.  was  taken  prisoner  by 
Napoleon  and  the  states  of  the  church  were  con- 
fiscated. The  emperor  of  Austria  had  also  been 
compelled  to  renounce  the  title  "Emperor  of  the 
Holy  Roman  Empire  and  Germany."  In  1809  A.  D., 
Rome  itself  was  incorporated  with  France  as  the 
second  city  of  the  empire.  The  Papal  kingdom  was 
surely  scorched  and  withered  by  this  burning  sun, 
the  "Scourge  of  Europe."  When  Napoleon  was 
finally  defeated,  the  Pope  again  returned  to  his 
capital  to  continue  his  divine  claims  and  to  demand 
the  worship  and  adoration  of  his  dupes.  Aug.  7, 
1814,  this  blasphemer  again  established  the  Inqui- 
sition and  the  Jesuits.  Neither  he  nor  his  followers 
manifested  any  repentance  by  reason  of  the  divine 

269 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

judgments  that  had  been  visited  upon  his  empire. 

Fifth  Plague  "And  the  fifth  poured  out  his  bowl 

upon  the  throne  of  the  beast;  and  his 
kingdom  was  darkened;  and  they  gnawed  their  tongues  for 
pain,  and  they  blasphemed  the  God  of  heaven  because  of 
their  pains  and  their  sores;  and  they  repented  not  of  their 
works"  (Rev.  16:10,  11). 

When  the  fifth  trumpet  angel  sounded,  the  sun 
and  the  air  were  darkened  by  reason  of  the  smoke 
that  came  out  of  the  abyss  (Rev.  9:2).  So  when 
this  fifth  bowl  is  poured  out,  the  Papal  kingdom 
is  darkened.  The  light  of  the  Papacy  ceases  to 
shine  with  its  former  brilliancy.  The  power  and 
influence  of  the  Pope  are  lessened  to  a  remarkable 
degree.  There  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  locality 
where  the  plague  is  visited.  It  is  "upon  the  throne 
of  the  beast."  The  throne  of  the  beast  has  always 
been  the  city  of  Rome.  The  term  implies  more 
than  just  the  mere  capital  of  his  kingdom,  for  it 
includes  his  power  and  right  to  rule  as  spiritual 
and  temporal  sovereign. 

In  1848  A.  D.  the  people  of  Rome  itself  rebelled 
against  the  Papal  power,  and  the  pretended  monarch 
was  driven  into  hiding.  He  was  finally  restored 
under  the  protection  of  French  soldiers.  In  1870 
A.  D.,  during  the  Franco-Prussian  War,  France 
was  compelled  to  withdraw  its  soldiers.  Victor 
Emmanuel  notified  the  Pope  of  his  purpose  to 
make  Rome  his  capital,  and  on  the  twelfth  day  of 
September  of  that  year  the  Italian  troops  took 
possession  of  the  Papal  territory.  On  October  2 
of  the   same  year  a  plebiscite   was  taken,   and   the 

270 


THE    DECLINE    OF    THE    PAPACY 

people  of  the  Papal  city  voted  overwhelmingly  for 
union  with  Italy.  Thus  the  very  throne  of  Papal 
temporal  power  was  removed.  Nor  was  this  all 
of  the  disaster  from  the  Papal  viewpoint.  Liberty 
of  worship  was  proclaimed.  The  gospel  was 
preached  again  in  the  city  where  Paul  was  impris- 
oned. The  Bible  had  been  circulated.  The  wor- 
shipers of  the  beast  rage  and  gnaw  their  tongues 
because  of  their  powerlessness  to  persecute  as  of 
yore ;  because  they  see  that  with  open  Bible  the 
age-old  impostor  is  doomed  and  his  waning  prestige 
and  power  are  about  extinct.  Despite  the  onward 
march  of  events,  and  the  crumbling  of  its  dominion, 
the  Papacy  still  uttered  its  shameless  blasphemies. 
The  Pope,  while  pretending  to  be  a  prisoner,  still 
claimed  to  be  the  vicar  of  Christ  and  the  rightful 
sovereign  of  the  kings  of  the  earth.  In  the  same 
year  in  which  he  was  dethroned  his  infallibility  was 
declared,  and  in  the  encyclical  letters  of  his  suc- 
cessors other  shameless  blasphemies  are  uttered. 

Sixth  Plague  "And  the  sixth  poured  out  his  bowl 

upon  the  great  river,  the  river  Eu- 
phrates ;  and  the  water  thereof  was  dried  up,  that  the  way 
might  be  made  ready  for  the  kings  that  come  from  the  sun- 
rising.  And  I  saw  cowing  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  dragon, 
and  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  beast,  and  out  of  the  mouth  of 
the  false  prophet,  three  unclean  spirits,  as  it  were  frogs :  for 
they  are  spirits  of  demons,  working  signs,  which  go  forth 
unto  the  kings  of  the  whole  world,  to  gather  them  together 
unto  the  war  of  the  great  day  of  God,  the  Almighty"  (Rev. 
16:12-14). 

The  results  of  the  pouring  out  of  this  bowl  are 
twofold.      The    first    effect    is    felt    by    the    river 

271 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

Euphrates,  while  the  second,  though  related  to  the 
first,  is  felt  by  all  the  nations  of  the  earth.  When 
the  sixth  trumpet  angel  sounded,  the  result  was 
that  a  fierce  race  of  Mongol  peoples  from  beyond 
the  river  Euphrates  started  on  an  era  of  expansion 
to  the  westward.  Like  a  mighty  river,  swollen  to 
torrential  proportions,  the  hordes  of  Turkish  horse- 
men swept  through  western  Asia  and  into  Europe, 
devouring  everything  in  their  path.  They  captured 
Constantinople  in  1453  A.  D.,  and  the  last  remain- 
ing vestige  of  the  empire  of  the  Caesars  became  the 
territory  of  the  Euphratean  peoples.  For  three 
centuries  it  remained  the  strongest  political  power 
rn  the  world,  holding  dominion  over  two-thirds  of 
the  ancient  territory  of  the  Caesars. 

The  student  of  Revelation  will  have  noticed  that 
the  bowl  of  the  fifth  angel  was  not  poured  out  in 
the  same  locality  that  met  disaster  under  the  sound- 
ing of  the  fifth  trumpet  angel,  but,  instead,  upon 
"the  throne  of  the  beast,"  or  Rome.  The  reason 
for  the  exception  to  the  rule,  that  the  same  locality 
is  visited  by  the  corresponding  angel  of  the  trumpet 
and  angel  of  wrath,  is  historical.  The  disaster  that 
came  to  the  southeastern  division  of  the  empire 
under  the  sounding  of  the  fifth  trumpet  angel  was 
through  a  religious  movement.  It  was  not  essen- 
tially political,  but  the  Arabian  locusts  swarmed 
over  the  earth  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  it  under 
the  dominion  of  a  false  religion.  Now,  before  the 
seven  wrath  angels  started  forth  upon  their  mission 
of  judgment,  the  religious  and  political  dominion 
of  the  entire  Mohammedan  world  was  combined  in 

272 


THE    DECLINE    OP   THE   PAPACY 

one  head,  the  Sultan  of  Turkey.  For  that  reason 
the  bowl  of  the  fifth  angel,  which  naturally  would 
have  been  poured  out  on  the  countries  overrun  by 
the  followers  of  Mohammed,  was  poured  out  upon 
the  throne  of  the  beast  instead,  making  the  judg- 
ment upon  the  beast  more  aggravated.  This  will 
be  noticed  in  the  fact  that  Napoleon  dragged  the 
Pope  from  his  throne  and  confiscated  his  territory 
under  the  fourth  bowl,  while  again  (1848  A.  D.  to 
1870  A.  D.)  the  same  thing  occurs  under  the  fifth 
bowl.  The  pouring  out  of  the  sixth  bowl  brings 
disaster  to  the  entire  Mohammedan  world,  because 
it  is  poured  out  on  this  Euphratean  power  that 
dominates  the  entire  territory  that  was  scourged  by 
the  false  prophet. 

We  have,  therefore,  this  situation  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  going  forth  of  the  angels  of  wrath: 
the  territory  of  the  ancient  Roman  Empire  entirely 
dominated  by  two  politico-religious  rulers,  the  Pope 
and  the  Sultan  of  Turkey.  Both  of  these  powers 
trampled  down  the  city  of  the  living  God,  and  both 
must  therefore  crumble  before  the  judgments  of 
God.  Because  of  the  fact  that  the  bowl  of  the  fifth 
angel  was  not  poured,  out  in  the  locality  where  it 
naturally  would  have  been  but  for  the  reason  above 
mentioned,  the  pouring  out  of  the  bowl  of  the 
sixth  angel  will  be  contemporary  with  that  of  the 
fifth  angel.  However,  since  the  Sultan  and  the 
Pope  are  contemporary  politico-religious  rulers, 
whose  common  purpose  is  to  trample  down  the 
truth  of  Christ,  the  judgments  of  God  to  be  visited 
against  both  must  be  of  equal  severity,  and  their 

18  273 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

decline  would  be  contemporary.  Now,  since  the 
sixth  is  the  wrath  angel  of  the  Euphratean  empire, 
his  work  will  really  begin  at  the  same  time  that 
the  first  angel  poured  out  his  bowl  upon  the  Papacy, 
that  both  of  these  antichristian  powers  might  come 
to  an  end  at  the  same  time.  His  work  will  be 
especially  noticeable  following  the  judgment  of  the 
fourth  angel,  when  the  fifth  bowl  would  naturally 
have  been  poured  out  on  the  locality  ravaged  by 
the  Mohammedan  locusts. 

The  judgment  of  the  sixth  angel  is  the  "drying 
up"  of  the  Euphratean  stream  that  overflowed 
southeastern  Europe  in  1453  A.  D.  In  other  words, 
the  politico-religious  power  having  its  capital  at 
Constantinople  will  decline  by  reason  of  the  judg- 
ments of  this  sixth  angel,  just  as  the  politico- 
religious  power  known  as  the  Papacy  will  be  "con- 
sumed" to  the  end.  The  figure  of  speech,  "drying 
up,"  clearly  indicates  what  will  occur.  Just  as  a 
stream  overflowing  all  of  its  banks  begins  to 
subside  and  dry  up  at  the  cessation  of  the  storm, 
so  will  the  Turkish  power  gradually  waste  away 
until  it  entirely  disappears. 

At  the  time  that  judgment  was  overtaking  the 
Papacy  when  the  first  angel  poured  out  his  bowl, 
the  decline  of  the  Turkish  power  began.  In  1774 
A.  D.  the  Turks  were  conquered  by  the  Russians 
and  were  compelled  to  sign  a  humiliating  treaty 
of  peace  at  Kainardji.  No  further  decline  is  espe- 
cially noticeable  until  after  the  judgment  of  the 
fourth  angel  against  the  Papacy  was  ended  in  the 
overthrow  of  Napoleon  in  1814  A.  D.     This  begins 

274 


THE    DECLINE    OF   THE   PAPACY 

the  period  when  the  fifth  angel  would  have  poured 
out  his  bowl  upon  the  Mohammedan  power  in 
natural  order,  but  for  the  historical  reason,  and  the 
sixth  angel  visits  the  judgment  instead.  In  1816 
A.  D.,  Servia  won  nominal  independence  from  the 
Sultan.  In  1823  A.  D.,  Greece  liberated  herself, 
and  became  an  independent  kingdom  after  a  war 
of  three  years.  On  Oct.  20,  1827  A.  D.,  the 
Turkish  fleet  was  destroyed  in  the  battle  of  Nava- 
rino,  and  her  naval  power  was  gone.  In  1844  A.  D., 
the  Ottoman  Government  was  compelled  to  issue 
a  "Decree  of  Religious  Toleration"  by  the  great 
powers  of  Europe.  In  1849  A.  D.,  Roumania  won 
a  nominal  self-government.  In  1878  A.  D.,  follow- 
ing a  war  with  Russia,  the  Sultan  was  divested  of 
a  large  part  of  Armenia;  Roumanian  independence 
was  recognized ;  the  limits  of  Servia  and  Monte- 
negro were  extended,  and  Bulgaria  was  erected  into 
an  autonomous  Christian  principality  out  of  terri- 
tory that  was  formerly  ruled  by  the  Turk. 

Following  the  signing  of  the  Treaty  of  Berlin, 
England  undertook  the  protection  of  Turkey  from 
further  inroads  upon  her  dominion.  But  God  had 
spoken  through  the  seer  of  Patmos  and  through 
Daniel,  and  England,  with  all  of  her  naval  power, 
can  not  hinder  the  judgments  of  God.  During  the 
recent  Balkan  war  Turkey  lost  almost  all  of  her 
territory  in  Europe,  and,  in  Africa,  Italy  stripped 
her  of  more  territory.  It  requires  no  prophet  to 
see  that  the  bowl  of  the  sixth  angel  will  bring  about 
the  complete  disappearance  of  the  Euphratean  power 
during    the    course    of    the    great    contest    that    is 

275 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

taking  place  in  Europe.  England,  the  protector  of 
the  "sick  man  of  Europe,"  has  turned  against  him, 
as  well  as  Russia,  France  and  Italy.  Turkey  has 
no  help  in  her  hour  of  greatest  peril  except  Germany 
and  Austria.  These  will  have  increasingly  serious 
troubles  of  their  own  as  the  war  progresses,  and 
by  1927  A.  D.,  when  her  duration  of  existence 
expires,  Constantinople,  as  well  as  Jerusalem,  will 
be  in  other  hands,  and  the  atrocious  Euphratean 
power  will  be  but  a  memory.  Compare  Dan.  8 : 9- 
12  with  Dan.  12:  11.  The  first  passage  refers  to  the 
taking  over  of  Jerusalem  by  the  Mohammedan  horn, 
while  the  second  passage  gives  the  time  that  Jeru- 
salem shall  be  trampled  down.  The  Mohammedans 
captured  Jerusalem  in  637  A.  D.,  and  the  1,290-year 
period  would  end  in  1927  A.  D.,  shortly  after  the 
end  of  the  Papacy.  God's  word  has  been  accurately 
fulfilled  in  the  events  already  mentioned,  and  there 
can  be  no  question  as  to  the  final  disappearance 
of  the  Turkish  power  at  the  time  revealed,  as  well. 
We  leave  for  the  future  years  to  reveal  the  identity 
of  "the  kings  that  come  from  the  sunrising." 

The     second     result     of     the 
rogs  pouring  out  of  the  bowl  of  the 

sixth  angel  was  the  issuance  of  three  unclean 
spirits  from  the  mouth  of  the  dragon,  and  the 
mouth  of  the  beast,  and  the  mouth  of  the  false 
prophet.  They  are  "spirits  of  demons,  working 
sigfns."  Again,  the  prophet  alludes  to  the  satanic 
character  of  the  dragon,  the  beast,  and  the  false 
prophet,  in  the  fact  that  the  demon  spirits  issue 
from   them.     The   means   by   which   these   unclean 

276 


THE    DECLINE    OF   THE    PAPACY 

spirits  accomplish  their  purpose  is  clearly  indicated 
in  the  fact  that  they  issue  from  the  mouths  of  these 
Satanic  monsters.  It  is,  therefore,  the  teaching 
of  the  dragon,  and  of  the  beast,  and  of  the  false 
prophet,  vitalized  by  the  three  spirits.  Through 
false  teaching  these  spirits  influence  the  kings  of 
the  whole  world  to  engage  in  war.  The  identity 
of  the  monsters  from  whose  mouths  the  spirits 
come  is  easily  determined.  The  dragon,  the  antago- 
nist of  the  church  following  96  A.  D.,  was  pagan- 
ism. It  was  plain,  outspoken  nature-worship,  and 
in  modern  times  would  be  represented  by  infidelity 
as  well  as  by  the  idolatrous  worship  of  the  heathen 
world.  It  is  outspoken  against  any  recognition  of 
God  in  the  affairs  of  men.  The  beast  was  the 
successor  of  pagan  Rome,  and  is  therefore  easily 
identified  by  the  so-called  Christian  empire,  begin- 
ning with  th6  reign  of  Constantine  and  continuing, 
after  its  death-stroke  was  healed,  as  a  beast  speak- 
ing blasphemies  for  a  period  of  1,260  years.  The 
ten  horns  or  divisions  of  that  professed  Christian 
empire  constitute  the  modern  form  of  the  beast 
and  manifest  the  same  jealous,  cruel,  destructive 
spirit.  The  idea  of  the  divine  right  is  the  same 
principle  in  essence  as  that  proclaimed  by  the 
emperors  of  Rome  and  the  popes.  This  doctrine, 
that  kings  rule  by  divine  right,  and  therefore  instead 
of  God,  and  that  all  of  the  rest  of  mankind  are  in 
duty  bound  to  obey,  still  is  the  prolific  source  of 
the  destruction  of  human  rights.  The  false  prophet 
is  identified  by  the  prophet  in  Rev.  19 :  20.  There 
he  is  described  as  the  one  who  wrought  the  signs 

277 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

in  the  presence  of  the  beast,  referring  to  the  two- 
horned  beast  mentioned  in  Rev.  13:  11-15.  It  there- 
fore refers  to  the  influences  that  changed  the  pro- 
fessed Christian  empire  into  the  Papacy.  During 
that  time  men  who  professed  to  be  Christian  taught 
false  doctrines,  and  so  perverted  the  pure  gospel. 
Creeds  were  promulgated,  men  exercised  unscrip- 
tural  power  and  meddled  with  political  affairs  until 
666  A.  D.,  when  Christianity  was  completely  cor- 
rupted, and,  instead  of  the  church  of  Christ,  there 
was    established    a   shameless    counterfeit. 

The  modern  form  of  this  two-horned  beast  is 
found  in  the  body  of  false  teachers  that  occupy 
pulpits  in  the  modem  religious  world.  It  would 
require  volumes  to  describe  all  of  the  perversions 
of  the  gospel  of  Christ  that  are  being  constantly 
taught  to  the  people  at  the  present  time.  The 
crystallization  of  a  modern  ecclesiasticism,  styling 
itself  "The  Federal  Council  of  Churches,"  is  rapidly 
occurring  before  our  eyes.  It  looks  like  a  lamb 
just  now,  but  its  real  nature  is  being  manifest  in 
the  ostracism  of  men  who  dare  to  oppose  it.  The 
priesthood  of  the  Catholic  Church,  since  the  Pope 
was  forever  shorn  of  all  temporal  power  in  1870 
A.  D.,  constitutes  the  exact  counterpart  of  the 
false  prophet.  It  is  common  knowledge  that  these 
false  teachers  insinuate  themselves  in  all  the  affairs 
of  government,  poisoning  and  corrupting  the  well- 
springs  of  human  liberty. 

It  is  useless  to  identify  in  particular  the  teach- 
ings of  these  three  spirits  that  are  the  inciting  causes 
of  a  world  war.     They  may  be  briefly  summed  up 

278 


THE    DECLINE    OF   THE   PAPACY 

under  three  heads:  Infidelity  in  its  various  forms, 
prevailing  political  doctrines  held  by  the  ruling 
classes,  and  false  teaching  of  professed  ministers 
of  Christ  in  all  religious  bodies. 

We  are  privileged  at  the  present  time  to  witness 
the  miracle  of  the  fulfillment  of  this  prophecy  con- 
cerning the  three  frogs.  These  unclean  spirits 
incited  a  part  of  the  kings  to  war.  Suddenly,  in 
July,  1914  A.  D.,  war  broke  out  in  Europe  without 
any  apparent  cause.  None  of  the  peoples  of  Europe 
had  been  insulted  and  wronged  by  any  other  people. 
No  flag  had  been  dishonored  by  any  nation.  A  boy 
belonging  to  the  common  people  of  Servia  shot 
and  killed  an  heir  to  the  Austrian  throne.  That 
was  all  that  appeared  on  the  surface.  In  a  brief 
space  of  time  the  matter  would  have  speedily  been 
settled  in  the  courts  by  the  boy  paying  the  penalty 
for  his  crime.  There  was  absolutely  no  injury 
inflicted  upon  national  honor  or  pride,  such  as  is 
usually  thought  sufficient  to  provoke  war,  yet  in 
a  moment  Europe  trembled  beneath  the  tread  of 
marching  armies. 

A  noticeable  feature  of  this  struggle  is  that  it 
is  a  war  between  kings.  There  was  no  uprising 
or  clamor  of  the  people  of  any  country  for  war. 
It  was  initiated  and  declared  by  kings,  without  the 
advice  or  consent  of  their  people,  exactly  as  John 
had  foretold.  The  prophecy,  as  yet,  is  not  com- 
pletely fulfilled.  The  kings  of  "the  whole  world" 
must  be  gathered  together.  The  war  has  already 
enveloped  more  than  half  of  the  world.  No  one 
can  predict  how  soon  it  will  involve  the  other  half. 

279 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

The  United  States  remains  at  the  present  time  in 
the  neutral  role,  but  the  presence  of  the  three 
spirits  of  demons  is  plainly  manifest  in  the  exten- 
sive military  and  naval  preparations  being  made. 
Attention  is  called  to  the  events  of  the  past  two 
years,  merely  as  a  recitation  of  facts,  and  not  in  the 
spirit  of  criticism.  The  ruler  of  this  nation  called 
upon  the  Christian  people  of  America  to  assemble 
in  the  various  places  of  worship  on  the  first  Sunday 
in  October,  1914,  to  "pray  for  peace."  Since  that 
time  the  spirits  have  been  at  work,  and  in  the  spring 
of  1916  the  same  ruler  visits  the  larger  cities  of  this 
country  on  a  tour  of  speechmaking,  for  the  express 
purpose  of  arousing  in  the  American  people  a  public 
sentiment  for  military  preparedness.  It  will  be  noted 
that  there  was  absolutely  no  demand  upon  the  part 
of  the  people  for  larger  armies  or  navies,  but  the 
demand  is  upon  the  part  of  the  ruler.  The  tide 
will  rise  until  this  nation  will  surely  be  involved,  as 
well  as  all  of  the  other  kings  of  the  earth,  for  the 
time  of  the  end  is  near  at  hand,  and  the  Lord  hath 
said  that  he  "hath  called  for  a  sword  upon  all  the 
inhabitants  of  the  earth." 

This  war  of  the  kings  is  not  an  ordinary  war, 
as  has  already  been  indicated,  but  the  gathering 
together  is  in  view  of  the  imminence  of  "the  war 
of  the  great  day  of  God,  the  Almighty."  This  will 
be  more  fully  explained  in  Rev.  19:19-21.  Many 
at  the  present  time  are  asking  what  will  be  the 
end  of  the  present  titanic  struggle.  The  seer  of 
Patmos  answers  the  question  in  the  sixteenth 
verse:  "And  they  gathered  them  together  into  the 


THE    DECLINE    OF   THE    PAPACY 

place   which   is   called   in   Hebrew    Har-Magedon." 

We   are  permitted   to   live   in 
The  Second  Com-      ^    ^^^^^    ^^^    ^^^^j    ^^^^       ^^ 

ing  o       e     or  ^^^   witnessing  the  gathering  to- 

gether of  the  kings  of  the  earth,  one  after  another. 
First  Austria  and  Servia,  then,  in  rapid  succession, 
Russia,  Germany,  France,  Belgium,  England  and 
all  of  her  colonies,  Japan,  Portugal,  Turkey,  Italy 
and  Bulgaria  enter  the  conflict.  We  do  not  know 
how  soon  or  in  what  order  the  remaining  rulers 
of  the  earth  may  be  involved,  for  the  Scripture  has 
not  indicated  it,  but  right  at  this  point  John  has 
inserted  a  parenthetical  sentence  of  most  solemn 
import.  Before  he  mentions  the  place  where  the 
armies  of  earth  are  finally  assembled,  this  paren- 
thesis occurs:  "Behold,  I  come  as  a  thief.  Blessed 
is  he  that  watcheth,  and  keepeth  his  garments,  lest 
he  walk  naked,  and  they  see  his  shame"  (v.  15). 
While  the  kings  are  gathering  together,  the 
coming  of  Christ  is  imminent;  while  the  world  is 
giving  its  attention  to  the  mustering  of  armies,  the 
King  of  kings  suddenly  appears  on  the  scene  with 
no  more  intimation  of  his  arrival  than  would  be 
given  by  a  thief.  It  can  be  nothing  but  a  solemn 
warning  to  mankind  of  this  generation  that  the 
most  glorious  event  of  all  the  ages  is  going  to  occur 
soon,  even  before  the  battle  of  Armageddon  takes 
place. 

The  seventh  angel  pours  out  his  bowl  upon  the 
air,  and,  as  he  does  so,  a  great  voice  out  of  the 
temple  is  heard,  saying,  "It  is  done."  The  final 
sentence  is  pronounced.     In  that  brief  statement  is 

281 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

comprehended  the  coming  of  Jesus  and  the  tem- 
porary withdrawal  of  the  saints  from  the  scene  of 
earth's  conflicts.  No  child  of  God  will  experience 
the  awful  miseries  that  shall  prevail  on  earth  during 
the  world  war.  The  Lord  mercifully  removes  them 
until  it  is  over. 

The  seventli  trumpet  angel  and  the  seventh 
wrath  angel  are  either  identical,  or  one  may  sound 
and  the  other  pour  out  his  bowl  at  the  same  moment, 
for  they  usher  in  the  same  events.  This  angel 
pours  out  his  bowl  upon  the  "air."  It  is  easy  to 
determine  the  nature  of  the  events  symbolized  here. 
The  air  is  the  medium  through  which  the  light, 
heat  and  power  of  the  sun  are  transmitted  to  the 
earth.  Then,  as  a  symbol,  it  signifies  the  medium 
through  which  kings  and  rulers  transmit  their  power 
and  authority.  In  times  of  peace,  the  authority  and 
power  of  kings  are  exercised  through  the  medium 
of  civil  officers,  but  in  times  of  war  the  only 
medium  through  which  kings  exercise  authority  and 
enforce  their  will  is  their  armies. 

Just  before  the  seventh  angel 
age     on  pours  out  his  bowl  the  kings  and 

their  armies  are  gathered  "together  into  the  place 
which  is  called  in  the  Hebrew  Har-Magedon."  The 
bowl  of  God's  wrath  is  poured  out  on  all  the 
armies  of  the  world.  The  scenes  that  ensue  are 
frightful  in  the  extreme.  They  are  described  as 
"lightnings,  and  voices,  and  thunders ;  and  there 
was  a  great  earthquake,  such  as  was  not  since  there 
were  men  upon  the  earth,  so  great  an  earthquake, 
so   mighty"    (v.    18).      The   tempestuous   storm    of 

282 


THE    DECLINE    OF    THE    PAPACY 

battle  rages  in  unprecedented  fury,  and  earthly 
power  is  shaken  as  it  had  never  been  before.  The 
spirit  of  militarism  is  so  completely  destroyed  that 
it  is  not  revived  in  the  thought  of  any  man  until 
"the  thousand  years  are  finished"   (Rev.  20:7). 

In  that  great  catastrophe,  Babylon,  described  in 
the  next  chapter  as  the  Papacy,  meets  her  doom. 
All  of  the  fierceness  of  the  wrath  of  God  is  visited 
upon  the  religious  impostor  that  has  blighted  and 
cursed  the  world  for  so  long.  The  cities  of  the 
nations  fall,  and  national  boundaries  are  obliterated. 
There  will  be  no  earthly  government  at  the  end 
of  that  brief  struggle,  for  "every  island  fled  away 
and  the  mountains  are  not  found."  These  denote 
states  and  kingdoms.  Thus,  through  another  series 
of  visions,  John  has  traced  the  rise,  decline  and  fall 
of  a  spiritual  empire  as  it  struggled  to  overcome 
"the  seed  of  the  woman."  The  following  chapters 
are  supplementary,  giving  more  complete  details 
concerning  the  final  doom  of  Babylon  and  the 
glorification  of  the  church. 


283 


CHAPTER  XIV. 
DESTRUCTION  OF    BABYLON  THE   GREAT 

THE  series  of  visions  of  the  remaining  chapters 
of  Revelation  are  supplemental  and  explana- 
tory. In  Rev.  14 : 8  the  voice  mentioned  the  name 
of  Babylon,  and  in  Rev.  16:  19,  while  enveloped  in 
the  mighty  storm  of  God's  fury,  John  had  caught 
a  momentary  glimpse  of  the  same  city  as  she  was 
crumbling  to  her  fall.  So  rapidly  did  the  visions 
sweep  on  toward  their  culmination  in  the  overthrow 
of  the  Papacy,  and  that  of  the  kings  of  the  world 
who  had  permitted  it  to  dominate  them,  that  no 
explanation  of  the  relationship  of  Babylon  to  the 
beast  is  given.  Now  that  the  prophet  is  fully 
assured  of  the  destruction  of  all  the  evil  powers 
that  have  opposed  true  Christianity,  these  supple- 
mentary visions  are  given  that  he  might  be  able 
to  fully  understand  what  phase  of  the  evil  power 
Babylon  represents,  as  well  as  the  fortunes  of  the 
church  after  her  enemies  have  been  destroyed. 

That  these  chapters  give  supplemental  and  ex- 
planatory details  concerning  things  mentioned  under 
the  mission  of  the  angels  having  the  seven  bowls, 
is  made  certain  by  the  fact  that  it  is  one  of  the 
seven  angels  that  had  the  seven  bowls  who  invited 
John  to  gaze  upon  a   special  vision  of  the  harlot 

284 


DESTRUCTION    OF    BABYLON 

woman.  In  that  vision  she  is  carefully  described, 
and  the  mystery  concerning  her  is  made  known  to 
him.  Again,  in  Rev.  21 : 9,  "one  of  the  seven  angels 
who  had  the  seven  bowls"  invites  the  prophet  to 
behold  a  special  vision  of  a  pure  woman,  "the  bride, 
the  wife  of  the  Lamb." 

A  comparison  of  the  details  given  of  the  two 
women  will  reveal  the  blackness  of  the  depths  of 
depravity  into  which  one  has  fallen,  as  well  as  the 
transcendent  and  spotless  purity  which  the  other 
has  maintained.  It  will  also  help  us  to  determine 
the  identity  of  Babylon,  a  thing  of  most  vital  and 
practical  import  to  the  church.  If  Babylon  repre- 
sents an  evil,  so  monstrous  and  shameless  that  all 
the  heavenly  beings  combine  in  paeans  of  rejoicing 
when  it  is  overthrown,  the  church  of  Christ  and 
every  follower  of  Christ  should  be  anxious  to  avoid 
it  and  all  connection  with  it.  Let  us  notice,  then, 
the  contrasting  features  of  the  harlot  and  the  bride. 

"THE  GREAT  HARLOT."  "THE  BRIDE,  THE  WIFE 

OF  THE  LAMB." 

(Chaps.  17-19.)  (Chaps.  21,  22.) 

"And   there   came   one   of  "And   there  came   one   of 

the  seven  angels  that  had  the  the  seven  angels  who  had  the 

seven  bowls,  and  spake  with  seven  bowls,  who  were  laden 

me,    saying.    Come    hither,    I  with  the  seven  last  plagues; 

will  show  thee  the  iudgmert  and  he   spake   with   me,   say- 

of   the  great   harlot  that   sit-  ing.  Come  hither,  I  will  show 

teth      upon      many      waters"  thee  the  bride,  the  zvife  of  the 

(Rev.  17:1).  Lamb"  (Rev.  21:9). 

"And  he  carried  me  away  "And  he  carried  me  away 

in   the   Spirit   into   a  wilder-  in  the   Spirit  to  a  mountain 

ness :  and  I  saw  a  woman  sit-  great  and  high,   and   showed 

285 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 


ting  upon  a  scarlet-colored 
beast,  full  of  names  of  blas- 
phemy, having  seven  heads 
and  ten  horns"   (Rev.  17:3). 

"And  the  woman  was  ar- 
rayed in  purple  and  scarlet, 
and  decked  with  gold  and 
precious  stone  and  pearls, 
having  in  her  hand  a  golden 
cup  full  of  abominations,  even 
the  unclean  things  of  her 
fornication,  and  upon  her 
forehead  a  name  written, 
MYSTERY,  BABYLON 
THE  GREAT,  THE 
MOTHER  OF  THE  HAR- 
LOTS AND  OF  THE 
ABOMINATIONS  OF  THE 
EARTH"    (Rev.   17:4,  5). 

"And  I  saw  the  woman 
drunken  with  the  blood  of  the 
saints,  and  with  the  blood 
of  the  martyrs  of  Jesus" 
(Rev.  17:6). 


me  the  holy  city  Jerusalem, 
coming  down  out  of  heaven 
from  God"  (Rev.  21:10). 
(Bride  and  the  holy  city,  the 
same  under  different  figures.) 

"And  his  wife  hath  made 
herself  ready.  And  it  was 
given  unto  her  that  she  should 
array  herself  in  fine  linen,, 
bright  and  pure:  for  the  fine 
linen  is  the  righteous  acts  of 
the  saints"  (Rev.  19:8,  9). 

"And  the  dragon  waxed 
wroth  with  the  woman,  and 
went  away  to  make  war  with 
the  rest  of  her  seed,  that  keep 
the  commandments  of  God, 
and  hold  the  testimony  of 
Jesus"  (Rev.  12:17). 


These  two  series  of  visions  present  two  women 
in  comparison  and  contrast.  They  are  both  described 
by  the  term  "woman."  Both  are  described  as  a 
"city."  Each  has  characteristic  raiment.  Both  are 
described  as  having  children,  the  one  called  "the 
mother,"  and  the  other  as  having  "seed." 

The  contrast  between  the  two  is  striking.  The 
harlot  is  as  foul  as  can  be  conceived  of.  All  of  the 
time  that  John  sees  her  she  is  in  a  state  of  drunken 
debauchery,  groveling  in  the  mire  of  deepest  deprav- 
ity.    She  is  "drunken  with  the  blood  of  the  saints." 

286 


DESTRUCTION    OF    BABYLON 

Not  only  does  she  present  the  disgusting  spectacle 
of  a  besotted  woman  whose  brain  is  crazed  and 
reeling  with  the  lust  for  blood,  but  she  is  a  keeper 
of  a  doggery  or  tavern.  She  dispenses  "wine." 
"And  they  that  dwell  in  the  earth  were  made 
drunken  with  the  wine  of  her  fornication."  She 
overpowers  the  masses  of  mankind  with  the  intoxi- 
cating and  stupefying  "wine  of  her  fornication." 
There  they  lie  about  her  with  their  brains  stupefied 
and  intellects  deadened  by  the  potions  received  from 
her  hand.  Not  only  does  she  dispense  "wine"  to  the 
common  people,  but  she  carries  on  the  despicable 
business  of  harlotry  with  the  "kings  of  the  earth." 
They  are  completely  in  her  power  and  under  her 
spell.  They  share  with  her  in  her  vile  sin.  Through 
their  overpowering  lust  she  owns  and  controls  them 
completely.  Her  clothes  are  not  bedraggled  as  one 
would  naturally  expect.  She  has  care  for  her 
outward  appearance.  She  is  "arrayed  in  purple 
and  scarlet,  and  decked  with  gold  and  precious 
stone  and  pearls."  Her  adornment  is  gaudy,  rich 
and  costly.  Her  daughters  are  harlots  like  herself. 
She  is  also  a  city  whose  name  is  Babylon,  referred 
to  in  the  preceding  visions. 

The  other  woman,  however,  is  the  very  opposite 
of  this  fallen  woman.  She  is  as  chaste  and  pure 
as  the  angels  of  heaven.  The  wife  of  the  pure  and 
sinless  Lamb  of  God.  She  was  surrounded  with 
the  glory  of  God.  Her  appearance  was  lustrous 
"like  unto  a  stone  most  precious,  as  it  were  a  jasper 
stone,  clear  as  crystal."  She  was  arrayed  in  a 
bridal  gown  of  "fine  linen,  bright  and  pure."     Her 

287 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

seed  is  comprised  of  those  "that  keep  the  com- 
mandments of  God,  and  hold  the  testimony  of 
Jesus."  This  woman  is  also  a  city,  "the  holy  city 
Jerusalem." 

As  these  contrasting  characteristics  of  the  two 
women  pass  in  review  before  our  minds,  we  are 
forced  to  the  unerring  conclusion  that,  while  the 
women  are  the  same  as  to  form,  they  are  the 
opposite  extremes  as  to  character.  Then,  whatever 
one  may  represent,  the  other  signifies,  but  possess- 
ing a  character  of  the  extreme  opposite  kind.  One 
is  a  woman  divinely  pure  and  chaste,  while  the 
other  is  the  most  satanically  impure  woman  imagin- 
able. One  is  the  holy  city  Jerusalem,  while  the 
other  is  the  idolatrous  and  abominable  city  Babylon. 
If  one  is  a  church,  the  other  must  be. 

The  Scripture  clearly  identifies  the  pure  woman. 
Paul,  in  writing  to  the  Ephesians,  says : 

"Husbands,  love  your  wives,  even  as  Christ  also  loved 
the  church,  and  gave  himself  up  for  it;  that  he  might  sanc- 
tify it,  having  cleansed  it  by  the  washing  of  water  with  the 
word,  that  he  might  present  the  church  to  himself  a  glorious 
church,  not  having  spot  or  wrinkle  or  any  such  thing;  .  .  . 
This  mystery  is  great;  but  I  speak  in  regard  of  Christ  and 
of  the  church"  (Eph.  5:25,  32). 

We  see  in  this  vision  the  realization  of  Christ's 
plans  and  sacrifice  as  they  culminate  in  the  marriage 
feast  of  the  Lamb.  A  woman  in  spotless  white, 
"made  ready  as  a  bride  adorned  for  her  husband." 
In  Heb.  12:22,  23  the  inspired  writer  identifies 
"the  city  of  the  living  God,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem," 
as  the  "church  of  the  firstborn,"  which  is  the  church 


DESTRUCTION    OF    BABYLON 

of  Christ,  because  he  was  the  "firstborn  from  the 
dead." 

This  divinely  pure  and  chaste  woman  is,  then, 
the  church  of  Christ,  and  the  great  harlot,  therefore, 
can  be  nothing  else  but  a  church,  an  apostate 
church,  reeking  with  corruption  and  drunken  with 
the  blood  of  the  saints.  The  heavenly  Jerusalem  is 
the  church  of  Christ,  therefore  Babylon  is  none 
other  than  a  church  that  lures  the  kings  and  rulers 
away  from  the  true  faith  of  Christ  into  her  slimy 
embrace.  With  the  intoxicating  wine  of  her  apos- 
tasy she  stupefies  the  reason  and  consciences  of  the 
common  people.  She  sells  indulgences  to  sin  for 
a  price.  She  releases  souls  from  purgatory  for  a 
price.  She  furnishes  charms,  amulets  and  scapulars, 
supposed  to  protect  the  recipient  from  sickness  and 
danger,  for  a  price. 

It  is  frequently  said  by  the  unthinking:  "It 
doesn't  make  any  difference  what  church  one  joins, 
for  one  is  as  good  as  another."  That  is  a  mistake. 
Here  is  a  church  that  reeks  with  all  of  the  abom- 
inations of  earth,  and  who  is  a  slattern  tavern- 
keeper,  making  her  followers  drunk  with  stupefying 
apostasy.  It  only  remains  now  to  identify  that 
church.  The  prophet  is  careful  to  give  definite 
details,  so  that  the  simplest  creature  could  recognize 
and  avoid  the  contamination  of  her  sins. 

The  Mystery  of  "^  will  tell  thee  the  mystery  of  the 

Babvlon  woman,  and  of  the  beast  that  carrieth 

her,  which  hath  the  seven  heads  and  the 

ten  horns.    The  beast  that  thou  .sawest  was,  and  is  not ;  and 

is  about  to  come  up  out  of  the  abyss,  and  to  go  into  perdition. 

X9  280 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

And  they  that  dwell  on  the  earth  shall  wonder,  they  whose 
name  hath  not  been  written  in  the  book  of  life  from  the 
foundation  of  the  world,  when  they  behold  the  beast,  how  that 
he  was,  and  is  not,  and  shall  come.  Here  is  the  mind  that 
hath  wisdom.  The  seven  heads  are  seven  mountains,  on 
which  the  woman  sitteth :  and  they  are  seven  kings ;  the  five 
are  fallen,  the  one  is,  the  other  is  not  yet  come ;  and  when  he 
Cometh,  he  must  continue  a  little  while.  And  the  beast  that 
was,  and  is  not,  is  himself  also  an  eighth,  and  is  of  the  seven ; 
and  he  goeth  into  perdition"  (Rev.  17:7-11). 

This  is  the  divine  interpretation  of  the  mystery 
of  the  woman  who  has  been  described  as  a  harlot 
"sitting  on  many  waters  and  on  the  scarlet-colored 
beast."  A  mystery  explained  is  no  longer  a 
mystery.  When  the  interpretation  has  been  given 
there  can  be  no  longer  any  uncertainty  as  to  who 
the  woman  is,  for  she  bears  the  identification  marks. 

Let  us  notice  these  in  detail.  First,  the  woman 
sits  upon  and  is  carried  or  supported  by  a  seven- 
headed,  ten-horned  beast.  John  describes  this  same 
beast  in  the  thirteenth  chapter.  There  are  some 
details  given  there  which  fix  the  beast's  place  in 
history.  The  particular  one  is  that  the  beast  was 
the  immediate  successor  to  the  dragon.  "And  the 
dragon  gave  him  his  power,  and  his  throne,  and 
great  authority"  (Rev.  13:2).  The  dragon  is  de- 
scribed in  the  twelfth  chapter  as  the  persecutor  of 
the  woman,  or  the  true  church  of  Christ,  following 
the  first  century.  This  identifies  the  dragon  as  the 
pagan  Roman  Empire.  History,  then,  fixes  the 
identity  of  the  beast.  Paganism  gave  its  power  and 
its  throne  and  great  authority  to  the  professed 
Christian  empire,  beginning  with  Constantine.   Rome 

290 


DESTRUCTION    OF    BABYLON 

was  the  capital;  it  was  the  throne  that  was  vacated 
by  the  pagan  emperors.  The  professed  Christian 
emperors  exercised  all  of  the  power  that  was 
exercised  by  their  pagan  predecessors.  History 
absolutely  fixes  the  identity  of  the  beast  and  his 
place  in  chronology.  He  appears  in  that  form  in 
324  A.  D.,  and  represents  the  Roman  Empire  as  a 
professed  Christian  and  earthly  government. 

Second,  the  beast  appears  in  three  phases  during 
his  life  history  as  described  in  the  thirteenth  chapter. 
He  receives  a  death-stroke  in  476  A.  D.,  when 
western  Rome  was  conquered  by  Odoacer,  the  bar- 
barian. This  ended  the  first  phase.  The  period 
during  which  the  wound  was  being  healed  consti- 
tuted the  second  phase  of  the  beast's  existence. 
During  this  period  its  political  power,  authority 
and  influence  were  weak.  When  the  wound  was 
healed  in  666  A.  D.  by  the  establishment  of  the 
Papacy  with  its  capital  at  Rome,  the  third  phase 
began.  It  is,  then,  a  blasphemous  beast.  He  opens 
his  mouth  to  blaspheme;  that  is,  to  make  divine 
pretensions.  He  makes  war  with  the  saints,  and 
this  was  to  continue  forty-two  prophetic  months,  or 
1,260  years.  This  description  is  repeated  under 
different  figures  of  speech  in  the  same  chapter.  In 
this  second  description  the  second  phase  of  the 
beast's  history  is  described  by  a  two-horned  beast 
that  looked  like  a  lamb.  The  outward  appearance 
indicated  a  sort  of  religious  form  of  government. 
It  is  said  that  he  exercised  all  the  authority  of  the 
first  beast  in  his  sight.  The  third  phase  is  indicated 
by  the   image  of  the  beast   which   was   established 

291 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

through  the  instrumentality  of  the  two-horned  beast. 
As  soon  as  the  image  of  the  beast  is  made,  all 
mankind  is  compelled  to  worship  the  image  of  the 
beast  or  be  killed.  It,  then,  is  a  universal  world- 
power.  History  fixes  the  identity  of  these  different 
forms  or  phases.  We  have  previously  called  a 
secular  historian  to  witness  to  the  fact  that  the  form 
of  government  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  is 
patterned  after  that  of  the  Roman  Empire,  and  is, 
therefore,  its  image.  This  beast,  then,  during  the 
three  phases  of  its  existence,  is  Roman.  Its  power 
is  exercised  from  Rome  as  the  center  of  its 
influence. 

In  the  seventeenth  chapter  the  beast  is  described 
in  the  same  three  phases.  Under  the  first  phase  it 
is  said  of  the  beast  that  "the  beast  that  thou  sawest 
was."  That  was  the  period  before  he  received  the 
death-stroke.  That  was  the  period  when  the  beast 
"was,"  or  had  an  existence  as  an  earthly  govern- 
ment. The  second  phase  is  described  by  the  phrase 
"and  is  not."  This  was  the  period  beginning  when 
the  death-stroke  was  given  and  continued  while  the 
wound  was  being  healed.  During  that  period  the 
beastly  power  was  not  exercised  in  the  same  degree 
as  before.  It  now  appeared  in  a  religious  form 
as  well  as  political:  it  began  to  look  like  a  lamb 
more  than  a  wild  beast.  The  third  phase  is  described 
by  the  expression  "and  is  about  to  come  up  out 
of  the  abyss,  and  to  go  into  perdition."  This  is 
the  beginning  and  the  end  of  the  third  phase  of  the 
beast's  history.  In  this  description  they  that  dwell 
on   earth   wondered   when   they   beheld    the    "beast 

292 


DESTRUCTION    OF    BABYLON 

that  was,  and  is  not,  and  shall  come,"  just  as  they 
wondered  when  the  death-stroke  was  healed,  or 
the  third  phase  began,  in  the  thirteenth  chapter. 
Therefore,  the  beast  of  this  chapter  is  the  Roman 
beast  representing  the  earthly  political  power  exer- 
cised from  Rome  in  all  its  varying  phases  from 
324  A.  D.  until  the  present  time.  The  harlot 
woman,  or  the  apostate  church  which  was  supported 
by  the  political  power  of  the  Roman  Empire,  can 
be  none  other  than  the  Roman  Church.  History 
unchangeably  fixes  her  identity.  The  Roman 
Church  has  always  been  supported  by  the  political 
power  and  authority  of  the  secular  rulers  of  the 
Roman  Empire,  and  of  the  divisions  into  which 
it  was  separated.  The  Roman  Church  has  always 
used  the  secular  power  to  carry  out  her  damnable 
murders  and  persecutions.  When  heretics  were 
to  be  destroyed,  the  secular  rulers  of  the  different 
parts  of  her  domain  were  compelled  under  threat 
to  do  the  dastardly  work.  She  now  tries  to  excuse 
her  monstrous  orgies  of  blood  by  claiming  that 
she  is  not  guilty  because  the  political  rulers  did 
the  deeds.  As  long  as  the  secular  power  carried  or 
supported  the  Roman  Church,  she  was  in  the 
ascendency,  but  when  nation  after  nation  refused 
to  support  her  with  their  secular  power,  she  fell 
into  decline. 

The  prophet  gives  us  an  important  note  of  time 
in  this  connection.  The  place  of  this  vision  in 
the  prophetic  chronology  is  determined  by  the 
phase  the  beast  was  in  when  John  saw  the  vision 
of  the  woman.    The  beast  was  just  about  to  begin 

298 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

the  third  phase  of  his  existence,  "and  is  about  to 
come  up  out  of  the  abyss."  The  death-stroke  was 
about  healed.  The  beast  had  just  about  returned 
from  the  jaws  of  death.  History  fixes  the  date 
as  about  666  A.  D.  Then,  this  also  fixes  the  begin- 
ning of  the  life  history  of  the  harlot  woman,  or  the 
Roman  Church.  It  was  about  that  time,  or,  to  be 
exact,  in  663  A.  D.,  that  the  church  was  made  a 
universal  and  united  one  by  the  decree  of  Pope 
Vitelian  that  worship  in  all  the  churches  throughout 
the  world  should  be  in  the  Latin  tongue.  This  is 
the  historical  starting-point  of  the  Roman  Church. 
Thus  history  and  Revelation  agree. 

Lest  some  one  be  doubtful  as  to  the  identity  of 
the  harlot  woman,  John  adds  other  identification 
marks.  He  calls  special  attention  to  the  seven  heads 
of  the  beast.  They  correspond  in  every  particular 
to  the  beast  of  the  thirteenth  chapter,  and  therefore 
indicate  that  this  was  the  same  Roman  power  as 
described  there,  but  when  he  gives  two  interpre- 
tations of  the  heads  he  emphasizes  the  identity  so 
that  there  will  be  no  room  for  doubt.  "Here  is  the 
mind  that  hath  wisdom.  The  seven  heads  are 
seven  mountains,  on  which  the  woman  sitteth."  He 
had  already  described  the  woman  as  a  city — Babylon. 
This  city  rests  on  seven  mountains.  The  topography 
of  the  world  determines  what  city  it  is  that  is  built 
on  seven  hills.  It  is  Rome,  and  no  other.  It  is  the 
"city  of  seven  hills."  It  is  the  very  heart,  center 
and  seat  of  the  Roman  Church.  From  the  Catholic 
viewpoint,  the  church  is  separate  and  distinct  from 
its     membership.       The     great     common     herd     is 

204 


DESTRUCTION    OF    BABYLON 

characterized  as  the  "children  of  the  church."  The 
church  is  different  from  its  children.  The  church 
is  that  power  which  the  children  obey  and  recognize 
as  parent.  The  Papacy,  consisting  of  the  Pope  and 
the  priesthood,  would  therefore  constitute  the 
church  from  the  Catholic  viewpoint,  and  from  its 
very  beginning  the  Roman  Church  sat  on  those 
seven  hills,  for  that  is  the  seat  of  its  power. 

Again,  he  interprets  the  seven  heads  as  "seven 
kings ;  five  are  fallen,  the  one  is,  the  other  is  not 
yet  come."  Turning  to  Daniel,  we  find  that  the 
word  "king"  is  not  used  in  a  personal  sense,  but 
in  an  official  sense,  in  which  a  succession  of  kings, 
or  a  dynasty,  is  denoted.  That  is  what  it  means 
here.  Each  head  was  a  succession  of  rulers  or 
forms  of  government.  This  is  confirmed  by  the 
statement  of  John  that  in  96  A.  D.  five  of  these 
were  in  the  past,  the  sixth  was  the  then  present 
form,  and  later  that  it  would  be  succeeded  by  a 
seventh.  History  fixes  that  as  an  absolute  fact. 
Rome  had  been  ruled  under  six  successive  forms 
of  government  to  and  including  the  time  John 
wrote.  These  were  (1)  kings,  (2)  consuls,  (3) 
dictators,  (4)  decemvirs,  (5)  tribunes,  (6)  crowned 
emperors,  and  then,  beginning  with  Diocletian  and 
Constantine,  Rome  entered  under  the  last  form  of 
political  government,  the  military  emperors.  Thus 
the  Roman  beast  is  again  pointed  out.  The  church 
which  this  beast  carried  was  none  other  than  the 
Roman  Church. 

Then,  another  identification  mark  is  given.  "The 
beast    that    was,    and    is    not,    is    himself    also    an 

295 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRfST 

eighth,  and  is  of  the  seven;  and  he  goeth  into 
perdition"  (v.  11).  After  the  seven  forms  of 
government  end  in  666  A.  D.,  an  eighth  head  takes 
its  place.  This  eighth  "is  of  the  seven";  that  is, 
it  grew  out  of  the  seven  and  is  a  development  of 
the  seven  succeeding  forms.  History  establishes 
the  fact  that  the  Papal  form  of  government  suc- 
ceeded the  seven  and  grew  out  of  them,  and  thus 
again  Rome  is  identified,  and  with  it  the  Roman 
Church. 

This  beast  had  ten  horns,  and  these  also  become 
identification  marks.  We  have  already  found  that 
the  term  "horns"  signifies  contemporary  divisions 
of  territory,  each  ruled  by  an  independent  sovereign. 
The  great  political  Roman  Empire  became  separated 
into  ten  independent  and  contemporary  divisions, 
each  ruled  over  by  an  independent  sovereign.  John 
says  that  they  had  received  no  kingdom  as  yet,  in 
his  time.  History  confirms  this.  These  divisions 
or  kingdoms  did  not  develop  until  after  the  fall  of 
Rbme  in  476  A.  D.  These  are  said  "to  be  of  one 
mind,  and  give  their  power  unto  the  beast"  (v.  13). 
This  is  exactly  what  these  ten  kingdoms  did.  For 
about  a  thousand  years  they  gave  their  power  to 
the  Roman  Papal  beast.  When  the  Pope  issued 
a  decree  to  slaughter  heretics,  these  ten  kingdoms 
executed  the  decree.  Their  armies  were  at  his 
service.  All  of  their  civil  officers  were  but  his 
servants,  to  do  his  bidding.  The  Roman  Church  is 
the  only  one  that  these  ten  divisions  have  supported 
and  given  their  power  to.  The  harlot  and  Babylon 
can,  therefore,  be  no  other. 

296 


DESTRUCTION    OF    BABYLON 

A  sixth  fact  concerning  this  harlot  church  is 
that  she  "sitteth  on  many  waters"  (v.  1).  The 
angel  says  that  the  waters  are  "peoples,  and  multi- 
tudes, and  nations"  (v.  15).  The  Roman  Church 
is  the  only  religious  institution  that  this  can  describe. 
For  a  thousand  years  her  universal  sway  over  the 
thought  and  consciences  of  the  nations  was  unques- 
tioned.   No  king  dared  to  disobey  her. 

The  seventh  identification  mark  is  of  a  similar 
nature.  "And  the  woman  whom  thou  sawest  is 
the  great  city,  which  reigneth  over  the  kings  of  the 
earth"  (v.  18).  History  again  points  unerringly 
to  the  Roman  Church,  as  does  Revelation.  Rome 
is  the  only  church  or  spiritual  power  that  has 
reigned  over  the  kings  of  the  earth  and  dominated 
them  according  to  its  will.  The  word  "earth"  is 
used  here  as  John  always  uses  it,  to  mean  the 
territory  included  in  the  Roman  Empire,  whose 
capital  was  Rome. 

The  change  of  attitude  of  these  horns  toward 
the  woman  confirms  what  has  already  been  said. 
Prophecy  says:  "These  shall  hate  the  harlot,  and 
shall  make  her  desolate,  and  shall  burn  her  utterly 
with  fire"  (v.  16).  History  says  that  this  is  exactly 
what  has  occurred.  The  nations  have  despoiled  her 
of  her  dominions  and  confiscated  her  property  until 
to-day  she  stands  naked,  shorn  of  all  temporal 
power  and  support.  One  by  one  the  countries  of 
South  America  are  writing  into  their  constitutions 
the  principle  of  religious  toleration,  where  formerly 
only  Roman  Catholic  worship  was  permitted. 
Mexico  is  in  the  throes  of  a  bitter  internal  strife 

2©7 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

for  the  purpose  of  liberating  herself  from  the 
abominations  of  the  Roman  Church. 

In  this  seventeenth  chapter,  therefore,  there  is  a 
seven-fold  identification  of  an  institution  that  can 
be  none  other  than  the  Roman  Church.  She  fulfills 
every  physical,  spiritual  and  moral  detail  of  the 
prophetic  description.  Even  her  finger-prints  remain 
in  blood  that  stains  the  pages  of  history.  The  harlot 
woman,  or  Babylon,  is  the  Roman  Church.  As  we 
have  examined  and  compared  the  various  symbols 
used  by  the  prophet  in  describing  a  satanic,  blas- 
pheming, persecuting  power  that  should  arise,  and 
upon  which  the  wrath  of  God  should  be  poured  out 
to  its  total  destruction,  we  have  found  what  phase 
of  this  power  each  symbol  especially  designates. 
These  symbols  are  three  in  number:  a  seven-headed, 
ten-horned  beast,  opening  his  mouth  in  blasphemies; 
the  image  of  the  beast;  and  a  harlot  woman,  or 
Babylon,  riding  on  the  beast.  When  describing  the 
Papacy  as  exercising  temporal  and  political  control 
of  Papal  territory  and  through  the  crowned  rulers 
of  the  ten  divisions,  the  symbol  of  the  beast  is  used. 
When  describing  the  Papacy  as  comprising  both 
temporal  and  religious  dominion,  the  symbol  is  the 
image  of  the  beast,  but  when  describing  the  Papacy 
as  a  purely  religious  institution,  or  as  a  church,  the 
symbol  is  either  that  of  the  harlot  woman  or 
Babylon. 

Rejoice,  and  shout  for  joy,  all  ye  saints  of 
God,  for  the  doom  of  Babylon,  that  iniquitous, 
apostate,  Roman  Church,  has  the  sentence  of  an 
avenging  and  outraged  Divinity  pronounced  against 


DESTRUCTION    OF   BABYLON 

her.  The  sixth  angel  has  already  poured  out  his 
bowl.  The  stream  of  the  Euphratean  power,  which 
was  once  a  mighty,  overflowing  torrent,  engulfing 
the  nations  of  the  world,  has  now  almost  disap- 
peared from  Europe.  It  but  awaits  1927  A.  D.,  its 
allotted  time,  to  disappear  from  the  galaxy  of 
persecuting  powers.  The  kings  of  the  earth  at  the 
present  moment  are  being  gathered  together  unto  the 
war  of  the  great  day  of  God,  the  Almighty.  We 
only  await  the  pouring  out  of  the  seventh  vial  for 
the  final  destroying  power  to  envelop  that  corrupt, 
putrefying,  Roman  Church  in  its  final  and  complete 
destruction. 

The  hour  in  which  we  live  is  fraught  with  the 
greatest  solemnity.  Millions  of  human  beings  at 
the  present  time  are  the  devotees  of  that  harlot 
woman,  drunken  with  the  wine  of  her  fornication 
or  apostasy.  Stupefied  by  the  intoxication  of  twelve 
centuries,  they  are  all  unconscious  of  the  awful 
doom  that  awaits  them.  It  is  now  that  the  warning 
of  God  ought  to  be  thundered  in  the  ears  of  every 
enslaved  inhabitant  of  Babylon:  "Come  forth,  my 
people,  out  of  her,  that  ye  have  no  fellowship  with 
her  sins,  and  that  ye  receive  not  of  her  plagues." 
The  time  has  come  when  every  Roman  Catholic 
ought  to  burst  the  slavish  bonds  of  the  abominable 
city,  renouncing  all  allegiance  to  the  arch-impostor 
that  rules  it,  and  come  out  to  be  a  free  man  in 
Christ  Jesus,  for  there  is  no  escape  for  any  who 
remain  in  the  city  any  more  than  for  those  who 
remained  in  Sodom. 

Other    Scripture    writers    have    written    of    this 

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THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS    CHRIST 

Romish  power.  In  the  seventh  chapter  of  Daniel 
we  have  a  description  of  four  great  beasts,  or 
world  empires.  History  fixes  the  identity  of  these. 
The  great  empire  of  Babylon  was  the  first  one 
described  as  a  lion.  Then  follow,  in  succession, 
Medo-Persia,  Greece  and  Rome.  History  knows  of 
no  others.  Daniel  was  especially  exercised  about 
the  fourth  beast  which  he  saw.  Ten  times  as  much 
space  is  occupied  in  its  description,  and  in  the 
angelic  explanation,  as  is  given  to  the  other  beasts. 
It  had  ten  horns.  Its  seven  heads  were  invisible 
as  distinct  entities,  for  they  were  still  in  the  future. 
In  the  midst  of  these  ten  horns  there  developed  a 
little  horn,  or  form  of  government.  It  had  charac- 
teristics, peculiar  to  itself,  and  which  identify  it  as 
this  same  Papal  power.  It  "had  eyes,  like  the  eyes 
of  a  man,  and  a  mouth  speaking  great  things." 
History  again  fixes  the  identity  of  the  power 
described,  with  unerring  certainty.  The  ten  horns 
represent  none  other  than  the  ten  divisions  into 
which  the  territory,  which  regarded  Rome  as  its 
capital,  was  divided.  The  Papal  government  grew 
up  in  the  midst  of  these  divisions  and  out  of  the 
same  head.  This  Papal  horn  actually  plucked  up 
the  Vandal,  Ostrogoth  and  Lombard  horns  and 
converted  their  territory  into  Papal  states,  subjecting 
them  to  the  absolute  temporal  power  of  the  popes. 
Dan.  7 :  25  and  26  gives  us  the  angelic  interpretation 
of  the  character  of  this  horn.  "He  shall  speak 
^ords  against  the  Most  High,  and  shall  wear  out 
the  saints  of  the  Most  High;  and  he  shall  think  to 
change  the  times  and  the  law;  and  they  shall  be 

800 


DESTRUCTION    OF    BABYLON 

given  into  his  hand  until  a  time  and  times  and 
half  a  time.  But  the  judgment  shall  be  set,  and 
they  shall  take  away  his  dominion,  to  consume  and 
to  destroy  it  unto  the  end." 

To  give  an  account  of  the  blasphemous  preten- 
'sions  of  the  popes,  who  constitute  the  recognized 
mouth  of  the  Roman  Church,  as  they  speak  with 
divine  and  "infallible  authority,"  would  be  a  repeti- 
tion of  things  we  have  already  g^ven,  and  would 
only  be  an  intimation  of  the  abundant  claims  to 
divine  power  found  in  all  of  their  printed  utterances. 
The  history  of  the  world  makes  one  shrink  with 
horror  from  the  revolting  record  of  this  Papal 
power,  "wearing  out  the  saints"  even  to  this  present 
time,  when  the  murder  of  William  Black,  at 
Marshall,  Texas,  and  the  abominable  outrages 
against  human  liberty  being  perpetrated  almost 
weekly  in  the  name  of  religion,  are  fresh  in  our 
minds.  The  same  time  is  allotted  this  little  horn 
that  is  allotted  to  the  Papal  beast  of  John,  "a  time 
and  times  and  half  a  time."  We  have  already 
found  that  this  signifies  three  and  a  half  prophetic 
years,  or  1,260  years.  The  religious  history  of  the 
world  written  by  her  own  historians  records  the 
fact  of  her  perversion  of  every  ordinance  and  law 
of  the  church  of  Christ.  The  popes  have  dragged 
Christ  from  the  office  of  Advocate,  and  exalted 
Mary  and  the  saints  instead.  They  have  made 
Christ  but  a  puppet,  obeying  the  command  of  a 
priest  to  enter  a  loaf  of  bread.  They  have  changed 
the  ordinance  of  baptism  from  the  illuminating 
symbol   of   death,   burial    and   resurrection,    into    a 

801 


THE     REVELATION     OF     JESUS     CHRIST 

meaningless  sprinkling  of  water  on  the  forehead, 
while  the  beautiful  symbolism  of  the  loaf  and  the 
cup  has  been  perverted  into  pagan  idolatry.  Blessed 
be  God,  this  little  horn  shall  continue  but  his  allotted 
time  of  1,260  years,  and  then  it  shall  give  place  to 
the  kingdom  of  "the  saints  of  the  Most  High"  and 
it  shall  endure   forever   (Dan.  7:27). 

Paul,  also,  describes  this  same  power  under  the 
figure  of  the  "man  of  sin."  He  explained  to  the 
Thessalonian  Christians  why  they  should  not  expect 
the  coming  of  Christ  in  their  day,  by  saying: 

"Let  no  man  beguile  you  in  any  wise :  for'  it  will  not  be, 
except  the  falling  away  come  first,  and  the  man  of  sin  be 
revealed,  the  son  of  perdition,  he  that  opposeth  and  exalteth 
himself  against  all  that  is  called  God  or  that  is  worshipped; 
so  that  he  sitteth  in  the  temple  of  God,  setting  himself  forth 
as  God"  (2Thess.  2:3,  4). 

Notice  the  details  of  this  description.  Standing 
in  the  apostolic  period,  there  must  come  a  "falling 
away,"  or  an  apostasy,  from  the  true  faith  and  the 
true  church  before  the  "man  of  sin"  would  be 
revealed.  This  apostasy  began  right  in  the  apos- 
tolic period.  "The  mystery  of  lawlessness  doth 
already  work."  The  various  warnings  to  the 
churches,  as  given  by  Paul  and  the  other  apostles, 
confirm  this.  There  were  incipient  manifestations 
of  the  exercise  of  ecclesiastical  power  by  elders  who 
loved  to  have  pre-eminence  in  the  church.  The 
religious  history  of  six  centuries  is  the  record  of 
the  growth  of  apostasy  from  true  Christianity  and 
the  complete  establishment  of  the  counterfeit  temple 
of  God  in  which  the  popes  sit,  mouthing  their  divine 

802 


DESTRUCTION    OF    BABYLON 

pretensions.  None  other  than  the  Roman  office  of 
the  popes  fulfills  the  details  of  this  prophetic 
description  of  the  man  of  sin.  Blessed  be  the 
merciful  God,  the  office  of  pope  will  come  to  an 
end,  and  cease  to  exist.  "The  Lord  Jesus  shall 
slay  him  with  the  breath  of  his  mouth,  and  bring 
to  nought  by  the  manifestation  of  his  coming" 
(2  Thess.  2:8). 

Thus  all  of  the  prophets  who  have  spoken  are 
joined  by  the  secular  historians  in  pointing  to  the 
Roman  Church  as  the  Babylon  and  the  harlot 
woman,  whose  decline  and  destruction  are  being 
brought  about  by  the  pouring  out  of  the  bowls  of 
the  seven  angels  of  wrath.  With  her,  in  her  awful, 
final  desolation  about  to  be  accomplished,  will  be 
involved  all  of  those  rulers  who  play  into  her  hands 
and  connive  with  her  in  her  devilish  political 
schemes,  as  well  as  all  of  those  who  are  stupefied 
by  her  monstrous  apostasies. 

Thus,  the  name  that  is  upon  her  forehead  pos- 
sesses the  most  solemn  and  awful  significance  to 
those  Protestants  who  would  have  no  connection 
with  her  in  her  sin.  The  name,  "MYSTERY, 
BABYLON  THE  GREAT,  THE  MOTHER  OF 
HARLOTS  AND  OF  THE  ABOMINATIONS 
OF  THE  EARTH"  (v.  5),  is  the  divine  estimation 
of  her  character,  and  also  of  her  relations.  The 
Roman  Church  is  not  only  Babylon,  the  mysterious 
city  of  confusion  and  idolatry,  but  she  is  the  great 
harlot.  She  has  exceeded  all  other  like  institutions 
in  apostasy,  for  that  is  what  spiritual  harlotry 
signifies.      (See   Isa.    1:21,   22.)      Not   only   is   she 

303 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

a  harlot,  but  she  is  also  the  mother  of  harlots.  Her 
daughters  are  harlots  like  herself.  The  women  who 
have  come  out  of  her  are  apostate  women.  What 
an  awful  indictment  of  Protestant  religious  bodies 
who  came  forth  from  the  womb  of  the  apostate 
church.  What  a  challenge  to  the  enlightened  con- 
science of  good  people  who  still  preserve,  in  a 
measure,  apostate  doctrines  and  practices  of  their 
apostate  mother.  How  gladly  ought  every  well- 
intentioned  follower  of  Christ  to  renounce  all  denom- 
inations and  all  forms  of  ecclesiasticism  and  follow 
the  teachings  of  Christ  completely.  Because  of  the 
fact  that  God  considers  all  denominations  as  harlots, 
the  Federation  of  Churches  amounts  to  nothing  but 
an  attempt  to  perpetuate  apostasy,  which  is  manifest 
in  each  of  them.  The  modern  form  of  "union 
evangelism"  in  which  each  harlot  winks  at  and 
compromises  with  the  apostasy  of  every  other  harlot, 
has  a  tendency  to  popularize  and  perpetuate  the 
present  departures  from  the  New  Testament  faith 
and  practice.  The  unity  for  which  Christ  prayed 
can  only  be  brought  about  by  renouncing  forever 
all  human  creeds,  human  names,  and  conforming 
to  the  New  Testament  as  the  only  rule  of  faith 
and  practice.  Federation  is  but  a  satanic  plan  to 
perpetuate  the  apostasies  that  are  transmitted  to  the 
various  sects  from  their  mother,  the  great  harlot, 
the  Roman  Church. 

These  marks  of  the  beast  are  easily  noted  in  all 
of  the  children  of  Rome.  The  true  church  of 
Christ  was  not  known  by  human  names.  Her  divine 
character   rendered   this    impossible.     If   a   church 

804 


DESTRUCTION    OF   BABYLON 

calls  itself  by  some  human  name,  it  has  departed 
from  the  divine  standard  that  far,  and  is  guilty 
of  spiritual  harlotry  to  that  degree,  in  preferring  to 
honor  men  or  doctrine  or  form  of  government  more 
than  Him  whose  "name  is  above  every  name." 
Some  of  these  sects  have  preserved  the  Romish 
form  of  government,  and  use  it  instead  of  the  simple 
form  which  Christ  inaugurated.  Some  preserve 
the  doctrine  of  "apostolic  succession,"  which  was 
invented  by  the  satanic  cunning  of  the  Roman 
bishops;  while  most  all  use  the  substitute  which 
the  Council  of  Ravenna  established  to  take  the  place 
of  Christian  baptism. 

The  great  harlot  having  been  described  in  seven- 
fold detail,  identifying  her  as  none  other  than  the 
Roman  Church  and  the  mother  of  apostate  churches, 
the  prophet  is  now  permitted  to  behold  a  series  of 
visions  giving  information  to  supplement  that  given 
in  the  visions  of  the  seven  wrath  angels,  as  recorded 
in  the  sixteenth  chapter.  If  any  one  may  have  a 
doubt  as  to  the  rottenness  and  moral  corruption 
existing  in  the  Roman  Church,  he  should  give  special 
attention  to  the  inspired  description  of  what  was 
found  as  each  angel  poured  out  his  bowl. 

Verses  1-3  of  the  eighteenth  chapter  refer  to 
the  Reformation  of  Martin  Luther.  In  1520  A.  D., 
Luther  uncovered  the  rottenness  of  Rome  in  the 
publication  of  "The  Babylonish  Captivity,"  and 
Babylon,  whose  doom  was  announced  in  prospect, 
was  found  to  be  "a  habitation  of  demons,  and  a 
hold  of  every  unclean  spirit,  and  a  hold  of  every 
unclean  and  hateful  bird"  (v.  3). 

20  805 


THE    REVELATION    OF   JESUS    CHRIST 

Verse  4  introduces  the  first  plague  that  was 
poured  out  on  the  Papal  power.  This  was  connected 
with  the  wave  of  infidelity  and  the  "Reign  of 
Terror"  from  1750  A.  D.  to  1793  A.  D.  This  bowl 
was  the  first  signal  of  the  execution  of  God's  judg- 
ments, and  was  therefore  a  premonitory  voice  calling 
to  all  of  God's  people  to  come  out  of  her.  As  bowl 
after  bowl  is  poured  out,  consternation  reigns  among 
those  who  had  been  enriched  by  her  and  had  been 
engaged  in  merchandising  with  her.  Among  the 
articles  of  merchandise  this  harlot  church  had  been 
bartering  were  the  "souls  of  men."  This  unerringly 
points  to  the  Roman  Church.  It  is  the  church  that 
invented  the  doctrine  of  purgatory,  and  to  this  day 
pretends  to  release  suffering  souls  of  men  from 
that  imaginary  region  of  torment  for  a  price. 

As  the  Roman  Church  began  to  lose  its  prestige 
and  power  because  of  the  succeeding  bowls  of 
wrath  poured  out,  indicating  the  near  approach  of 
her  doom,  a  strong  angel,  by  casting  a  mighty  mill- 
stone into  the  sea,  pronounced  the  final  end  of  the 
Babylonish  apostasy.  It  will  end  in  violence  and  be 
entirely  blotted  from  existence.  The  act  of  this 
strong  angel  was  premonitory  of  the  final  judgment 
of  the  harlot  as  the  seventh  angel  prepares  to  pour 
out  his  bowl. 

The  solemn  moment  has  arrived.  The  1,260 
years  allotted  to  her  are  just  expiring,  and  all  of 
the  angelic  host  break  forth  in  one  grand,  triumphant 
song  in  anticipation  of  the  triumphant  victory  of 
the  pure,  chaste  virgin,  that  Christ  loved  and  gave 
his  life  for.     The  four  and  twenty  elders  and  the 

306 


DESTRUCTION    OF    BABYLON 

four  living  creatures  who  abide  in  the  immediate 
presence  of  Jehovah  fall  down  and  worship.  Then, 
at  the  signal  of  the  director  of  the  heavenly  choir, 
every  divine  being  in  the  universe  joins  in  the  final 
chorus : 

"Hallelujah :  for  the  Lord  our  God,  the  Almighty,  reign- 
eth.  Let  us  rejoice  and  be  exceeding  glad,  and  let  us  g^ve 
the  glory  unto  him :  for  the  marriage  of  the  Lamb  is  come, 
and  his  wife  hath  made  herself  ready.  And  it  was  given 
unto  her  that  she  should  array  herself  in  fine  linen,  bright 
and  pure :  for  the  fine  linen  is  the  righteous  acts  of  the  saints" 
(Rev.  19:6-8). 

This  corresponds  in  time  to  the  parenthetical 
statement  made  in  Rev.  16:15,  and  is  premonitory 
of  the  same  divine  event.  It  occurs  at  the  close 
of  the  mission  of  the  sixth  wrath  angel.  In  1914 
A.  D.  we  witnessed  the  beginning  of  the  gathering 
together  of  the  kings  of  the  earth  for  the  last 
great  struggle,  and  John  has  revealed  here  the 
events  that  are  transpiring  at  the  present  moment 
around  the  throne  of  God,  but  beyond  the  ken  of 
human  ear. 

In  the  sixteenth  chapter  the  prophet  has  revealed 
the  gathering  together  of  the  kings  of  the  earth 
"unto  the  war  of  the  great  day  of  God,  the 
Almighty,"  but  he  did  not  indicate  as  to  how  they 
were  aligned  or  who  were  to  constitute  the  opposing 
armies.  Now  he  is  ready  to  give  this  information, 
also.  The  seventh  trumpet  angel  sounds  and  the 
seventh  angel  of  wrath  pours  out  his  vial,  and  then 
the  events  described  in  Rev.  19:  11-21  begin  to  occur. 
Here  we  have  given  in  clearer  details  a  more  complete 

307 


THE    REVELATION    OF    JESUS    CHRIST 

description  of  the  events  recorded  in  Rev.  16: 17-21. 

The  Armies  of  "And  I  saw  the  heaven  opened;  and 

Heaven  behold,    a    white    horse,    and    he    that 

sat  thereon  called  Faithful  and  True; 
and  in  righteousness  he  doth  judge  and  make  war.  And  his 
eyes  are  a  flame  of  fire,  and  upon  his  head  are  many  diadems ; 
and  he  hath  a  name  written  which  no  one  knoweth  but  he 
himself.  And  he  is  arrayed  in  a  garment  sprinkled  with 
blood :  and  his  name  is  called  the  Word  of  God.  And  the 
armies  which  are  in  heaven  followed  him  upon  white  horses, 
clothed  in  fine  linen,  white  and  pure.  And  out  of  his  mouth 
proceedeth  a  sharp  sword,  that  with  it  he  should  smite  the 
nations :  and  he  shall  rule  them  with  a  rod  of  iron :  and  he 
treadeth  the  winepress  of  the  fierceness  of  the  wrath  of  God, 
the  Almighty.  And  he  hath  on  his  thigh  a  name  written, 
KING  OF  KINGS  AND  LORD  OF  LORDS"  (Rev.  19: 
11-16). 

We  have  here  another  white  horse  similar  to  the 
one  that  appeared  at  the  opening  of  the  first  seal. 
There  it  indicated  a  victorious  war,  and  it  denotes 
the  same  here.  The  rider  of  this  white  horse  and 
his  armies  will  come  off  more  than  conquerors  in 
the  struggles  which  are  about  to  ensue.  The  rider 
of  this  white  horse  is  different  from  the  one  on  the 
first  white  horse  mentioned.  He  has  a  sharp  two- 
edged  sword  proceeding  out  of  his  mouth,  while 
the  rider  of  the  first  horse  is  to  be  identified  by  a 
bow.  This  rider  had  many  diadems,  indicating  that 
he  was  the  king  over  many  kingdoms,  while  the 
first  rider  had  but  one  crown.  The  events  described 
are,  then,  entirely  "different.  The  events  signified 
by  the  first  white  horse  and  his  rider  occurred 
during  the  first-seal  period,  while  the  events  symbol- 
ized here  occur  during  the  seventh  seal  and  begin 

80ft 


DESTRUCTION    OF    BABYLON 

at  the  sounding  of  the  very  last  trumpet  of  that 
period. 

The  wondrous  rider  of  this  white  horse  dis- 
tinctly identifies  the  events  symbolized  here  by  his 
glorious  and  divine  attributes.  By  a  comparison 
with  the  description  of  the  glorious  one  standing 
in  the  midst  of  the  candlesticks  in  the  first  chapter 
of  Revelation,  we  find  that  he  and  the  rider  of 
this  white  horse  are  one  and  the  same.  In  Rev. 
2:18  we  find  that  the  glorious  one  described  in  the 
first  chapter  is  the  Son  of  God,  and  he  it  is  who 
is  now  emerging  from  the  clouds  of  heaven  ''with 
power  and  great  glory"  (Luke  21:27),  exactly  as 
he  himself  had  promised.  He  is  now  "revealed  from 
heaven  with  the  angels  of  his  power  in  flaming  fire, 
rendering  vengeance  to  them  that  know  not  God, 
and  to  them  that  obey  not  the  gospel  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ"  (2  Thess.  1:7,  8).  He  is  the  eternal 
one,  for  "his  name  is  called  the  Word  of  God," 
which  in  the  beginning  "was  with  God." 

At  this  point  the  three  parallel  series  of  visions 
which  we  have  been  examining  come  to  an  end  in 
one  grand  and  crowning  climax,  the  second  coming 
of  Jesus.  In  the  first  series  of  visions  we  have  the 
prophetic  history  of  the  visible  church  of  Christ 
that  has  never  been  dominated  by  the  Papacy,  and 
with  its  imperfections  pointed  out.  At  the  con- 
clusion of  the  Laodicean  period  this  divine  spectacle 
of  the  marching  of  the  heavenly  armies  occurs.  It 
is  indicated  there  by  Jesus  knocking  at  the  door 
of  the  church  and  announcing  a  supper  (Rev.  3 :  20). 
So  far  as  the  visible  church  is  concerned,  the  second 

309 


THE    REVELATION    OF   JESUS    CHRIST 

coming  of  Jesus  signifies  a  calling  out  of  a  portion 
of  its  membership  who  will  sit  at  the  marriage 
supper  of  the  Lamb,  which  is  announced  as  ready 
in  Rev.  19 : 7-9.  These  "called  out"  ones  are  those 
who  give  no  heed  to  the  voices  of  ecclesiasticism 
or  denominationalism,  but  "hear  the  voice"  of  Christ. 
The  daughters  of  the  Roman  Church  have  already 
been  found  to  be  apostate  from  the  New  Testament 
standards.  Christ  calls  to  his  people  through  the 
pure  gospel  of  the  New  Testament.  "Whereunto 
he  called  you  through  our  gospel,  to  the  obtaining 
of  the  glory  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ"  (2  Thess. 
2:14).  Those  who  sup  with  the  Master  at  his 
coming  will,  then,  be  those  who  conform  to  the 
gospel  of  the  New  Testament  and  reject  all  the 
creeds  and  traditions  of  men.  The  great  question 
to  be  decided  by  every  church-member  is,  "Will  I 
follow  denominational  leaders,  or  will  I  follow 
Christ?" 

The  second  series  of  visions  gives  the  prophetic 
history  of  the  great  earthly  and  political  antagonist, 
as  manifested  in  the  various  stages  of  the  Roman 
Empire.  So  far  as  it  is  concerned,  Christ  comes 
to  conquer  it  and  subject  all  earthly  rule  to  his 
own  spiritual  dominion.  The  third  series  of  visions 
gives  the  prophetic  history  of  the  great  spiritual 
antagonist  of  the  church,  as  manifested  in  the 
devilish  combination  of  church  and  state,  appearing 
sometimes  in  purely  temporal  form,  as  in  the  tem- 
poral power  of  the  Papacy;  sometimes  in  a  politico- 
religious  form,  and  sometimes  in  a  purely  religious 
form,  as  in  the  Roman  Church.    So  far  as  this  insti- 

810 


DESTRUCTION    OF    BABYLON 

tution  is  concerned,  the  second  coming  of  Jesus 
signalizes  its  destruction.  Then  this  divine  spectacle 
betokens  the  gathering  of  the  true  church,  the 
subjection  of  all  government  and  rule  to  Christ 
and  the  total  destruction  of  all  spiritual  agencies 
and  means  that  are  subversive. 

This  has  generally  been  conceived  of  as  a  period 
of  awful  physical  convulsions  in  which  the  worlds 
and  suns  would  crash  together  and  the  universe 
would  return  to  primeval  chaos.  This  error  is  due 
to  the  use  of  language  in  a  sense  different  from 
that  in  which  the  Scripture  uses  it.  We  must  remem- 
ber that  these  things  are  "sign-i-fied"  and  must  be 
understood  in  their  symbolic  sense.  Peter  says,  in 
speaking  of  the  world  of  the  antediluvian  age: 
"The  world  that  then  was,  being  overflowed  with 
water,  perished"  (2  Pet.  3:6).  We  know  that 
the  same  physical  earth  remained  after  the  flood 
that  appeared  before,  only  with  changed  spiritual 
conditions.  A  remnant  of  men  and  animals  that 
lived  on  the  earth  before  the  flood  were  brought 
over  into  the  earth  after  the  flood.  While  following 
the  appearance  of  the  white-horse  rider  there  will 
be  the  mightiest  earthquake  that  it  is  possible  to 
conceive  of,  it  does  not  concern  the  physical  universe, 
for  it  is  the  shaking  and  crumbling  of  the  political 
earth.  The  kingdoms  of  the  world  will  rock  and 
reel  as  they  are  dashed  to  pieces  by  the  mighty 
internal  forces  of  dissolution.  The  downtrodden 
and  the  oppressed  of  every  land,  crushed  to  earth 
through  the  ages  of  the  domination  of  the  ruling 
classes,   will   at   that   moment   be   aroused  to    such 

311 


THE    REVELATION    OF   JESUS    CHRIST 

extremes  of  violence  as  the  world  has  never  wit- 
nessed before.  The  war  which  began  in  1914  A.  D. 
is  the  aggravating  cause  of  the  rebellion  of  the 
masses.  The  senseless  slaughter  of  the  world's 
laboring  men  and  producers,  with  the  enormous 
increase  of  national  debts,  will  speedily  bring  about 
a  condition  that  humanity  will  not  bear.  The  pre- 
monitory rumblings  are  already  being  heard.  The 
cry  of  the  labor-unions,  the  socialists  and  the  an- 
archists against  the  already  prevailing  conditions, 
will  be  but  a  whisper  as  compared  to  the  mighty 
shout  of  outraged  humanity  which  will  arise  ten 
years  from  now. 

In  that  last  great  contest  beginning  about  1927 
A.  D.,  and  continuing  at  intervals  till  1972  A.  D.,  the 
slaughter  and  the  tribulation  of  the  world  will  be 
inconceivable.  That  slaughter  will  not  be  inflicted 
by  the  weapons  of  the  heavenly  army  previously 
described.  The  weapon  of  that  army  is  the  sharp 
sword  that  goeth  forth  from  the  mouth  of  the  Son 
of  God.  It  is  not  a  carnal  weapon,  but  is  the  word 
of  God.  Its  slaughter  is  accomplished  by  the  preach- 
ing of  its  truths,  and  this  is  not  done  upon  the 
appearance  of  the  heavenly  army.  The  appearance 
of  the  Son  of  God  on  the  white  horse,  and  followed 
by  his  armies,  was  the  signal  for  the  beginning  of 
the  feast  of  the  birds,  announced  by  an  angel. 

Bird  Feast  "And  I  saw  an  angel  standing  in  the 

sun ;  and  he  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  to 

all  the  birds  that  fly  in  mid  heaven,  Come  and  be  gathered 

together  unto  the  great  supper  of  God ;  that  ye  may  eat  the 

flesh  of  kings,  and  the  flesh  of  captains,  and  the  flesh  of 

812 


DESTRUCTION    OF   BABYLON 

mighty  men,  and  the  flesh  of  horses  and  of  them  that  sit 
thereon,  and  the  flesh  of  men,  both  free  and  bond,  and  small 
and  great"  (Rev.  19:17,  18). 

The  symbolism  of  these  verses  is  very  simple, 
so  that  we  can  not  mistake  the  events  about  to  occur 
upon  the  announcement  of  the  angel.  A  great 
divine  judgment  is  to  be  visited  upon  the  kings 
of  the  earth  and  their  armies.  They  are  now  to 
reap  the  harvest  of  their  own  sowing  through  the 
centuries  of  their  misrule.  They  are  to  be  pounced 
upon  by  a  mighty  swarm  of  birds  of  prey  and 
vulture-like  birds  eating  flesh  and  carrion.  The 
habitat  of  these  birds  is  mid-heaven.  Heaven  is 
the  place  of  power  and  the  place  of  thrones,  there- 
fore denoting  kingly  rule  and  power.  The  birds 
fly  in  mid-heaven  and  can  not,  therefore,  be  classed 
with  earthly  kingdoms  and  governments.  Their 
place  is  "mid-heaven."  Birds,  however,  symbolize 
forms  of  government.  When  Peter  saw  the  vision 
of  the  great  sheet  let  down  from  heaven,  he  saw 
that  it  contained  "fourfooted  beasts  and  creeping 
things  of  the  earth  and  birds  of  the  heaven"  (Acts 
10:  12).  Peter  interpreted  the  significance  of  these 
living  things  when  he  said  in  the  thirty-fourth  and 
thirty-fifth  verses:  "Of  a  truth  I  perceive  that  God 
is  no  respecter  of  persons:  but  in  every  nation  he 
that  feareth  him,  and  worketh  righteousness,  is 
acceptable  to  him."  When  the  apostle  heard  the 
experience  of  the  Gentile  centurion,  the  meaning 
of  beasts  and  creeping  things  and  birds  dawned 
upon  him.  They  denoted  "nations,"  races,  or  forms 
of  government  of  all  kinds  known  to  the  world. 


THE    REVELATION    OF   JESUS    CHRIST 

In  this  vision  the  birds  can  not  be  classified  as 
being  earthly  governments,  for  their  place  of  rule 
is  in  "mid-heaven."  They  are,  therefore,  powerful 
organizations  of  men  in  the  midst  of  the  nations, 
and  that  are  hostile  to  kingly  rule.  The  appearance 
of  the  Son  of  God  at  the  sounding  of  the  seventh 
trumpet,  and  the  pouring  out  of  the  seventh  bowl, 
is  the  signal  for  the  gathering  fury  of  labor-unions, 
and  all  other  organizations  hostile  to  the  ruling 
classes,  to  burst  forth.  As  a  mighty  host  of  eagles 
and  vultures  they  will  attack  with  one  accord  and 
will  swoop  upon  all  earthly  rulers  and  rend  their 
kingdoms  asunder.  It  will  be  a  struggle  of  labor 
against  capital,  the  oppressed  against  the  oppressor, 
the  slaves  against  their  masters,  and  right  against 
wrong.  The  birds  will  be  victorious  and  will  despoil 
the  thrones  and  feast  upon  the  spoil  of  kingdoms. 
All  the  while  this  mighty  struggle  is  being  waged, 
the  heavenly  armies  do  not  take  part.  They  are 
onlookers.  They  await  the  propitious  moment 
when,  in  the  midst  of  the  world's  great  tribulation, 
the  kings  of  the  earth  and  all  mankind  learn  from 
bitter  experience  that  Christ's  law  is  the  only  basis 
of  human  happiness.  The  world's  laws  and  methods 
have  ripened  into  an  awful  harvest  of  misery  and 
tribulation  and  have  utterly  failed. 

The  angel  having  made  his  announcement  of 
the  beginning  of  this  period  of  warfare,  the  oppos- 
ing forces  are  seen  in  battle  array.  "And  I  saw 
the  beast,  and  the  kings  of  the  earth,  and  their 
armies,  gathered  together  to  make  war  against  him 
that   sat    upon    the    horse,    and    against    his    army" 

314 


DESTRUCTION    OF    BABYLON 

(Rev.  19:  19).  At  the  close  of  the  mission  of  the 
sixth  wrath  angel,  we  saw  the  kings  of  the  whole 
world  being  gathered  together  "unto  the  war  of 
the  great  day  of  God,  the  Almighty."  This  assem- 
bling began  in  1914  A.  D.,  and  within  ten  years 
will  be  complete.  The  alignment  of  the  opposing 
forces  mentioned  in  Rev.  19 :  19  reveals  the  real 
meaning  of  the  struggle  of  the  European  armies. 
It  is  a  challenge  to  the  King  of  kings.  In  substance, 
the  kings  of  Europe  are  saying  to  Christ:  "We 
will  not  rule  according  to  your  teaching.  We  are 
going  to  demonstrate  that  we  can  bring  peace  by 
military  preparedness.  We  can  bring  in  universal 
peace  and  the  millennium  by  force  and  by  treaty. 
We  can  bring  about  the  world  kingdom  that  is 
spoken  of  in  the  Bible,  by  compelling  a  concert  of 
nations  by  the  force  of  our  dominant  power.  We 
will  mete  out  justice  in  all  the  world  through  an 
international  supreme  court  which  we  will  establish 
to  settle  all  future  disputes  between  the  nations." 
This  reveals  the  real  meaning  of  the  haste 
manifested  in  the  United  States  to  arouse  the  spirit 
of  militarism.  Christ's  weapons  are  spiritual,  but 
the  rich  men  and  the  politicians  are  saying:  "We 
do  not  need  them;  the  only  guarantee  of  peace  is 
our  army  and  our  navy."  So  every  effort  is  being 
put  forth  to  enlarge  our  military  and  naval  arms. 
Little  do  the  young  men  who  rush  to  enlist  in  the 
army  and  navy  think  that  they  are  to  be  used 
against  their  toiling  brothers  when  the  "bird  feast" 
begins  in  1927  A.  D.  Little  do  the  taxpayers 
dream   that   the   armament   which   they   are   paying 

315 


THE    REVELATION    OF   JESUS    CHRIST 

for  is  to  be  used  against  themselves  when  they 
rebel  against  the  unbearable  burdens  which  are 
gradually  accruing  upon  their  own  shoulders.  Such, 
however,  are  the  results  that  the  prophet  unerringly 
points  to  in  the  progress  of  present  events. 

The  parties  that  make  up  the  forces  that  chal- 
lenge Christ  to  battle  are  named.  The  leader  is 
the  beast.  We  have  already  found  that  he  repre- 
sents the  Papacy  as  a  temporal,  political  form  of 
government.  It  is  true  that  the  Pope  has  been 
shorn  of  his  temporal  possessions,  but  he  still  claims 
to  exercise  temporal  sovereignty.  All  civilized 
nations  recognize  the  Pope  as  a  temporal  sovereign. 
They  receive  ambassadors  from  the  Vatican,  and 
they  enter  into  treaties  with  him,  and  these  acts 
constitute  an  acknowledgment  of  his  temporal  sov- 
ereignty. The  United  States  has  in  Washington  a 
regularly  accredited  ambassador  of  the  Pope.  He 
even  takes  precedence  over  all  of  the  representatives 
of  the  great  sovereigns  of  the  world.  The  legal 
status  of  the  Pope  is  given  in  "The  International 
Digest,"  compiled  by  John  Basset  Moore  in  com- 
pliance with  an  act  of  Congress,  1906: 

"The  Holy  See  occupies  a  position  analogous  to  states, 
and  the  Pope  is  treated  like  a  sovereign,  and  even  as  a  privi- 
leged sovereign"  (Vol.  I.,  p.  16). 

As  a  temporal  sovereign,  through  the  intrigues 
of  his  agents  in  all  the  world,  he  embroils  the 
nations  in  the  last  great  struggle.  He  lighted  the 
match  which  caused  the  explosion  in  Europe.  When 
the    Servian    people    realized    that    the    concordat 

816 


DESTRUCTION    OF    BABYLON 

between  the  Servian  Government  and  the  Pope  was 
in  reality  the  bargaining-  away  of  their  liberty  to 
the  monster  of  the  Tiber,  their  indignation  was 
aroused  against  all  the  emissaries  of  that  ruler. 
When  the  heir  to  the  Austrian  throne  appeared 
with  all  of  his  Romish  devotion,  an  irresponsible 
individual,  overpowered  by  the  popular  indignation, 
committed  the  crime  which  resulted  in  the  war. 

The  United  States  is  a  fruitful  field  of  Papal 
political  intrigue.  A  few  years  ago  Mexico,  weary- 
ing beneath  the  Papal  yoke,  engaged  in  civil  strife 
to  relieve  itself  of  priestly  bondage.  This  country 
is  now  being  used  in  which  to  carry  out  all  of  the 
infernal  schemes  that  can  be  invented  by  a  Romish 
mind  against  that  afflicted  country.  New  insurrec- 
tions are  planned  by  a  cardinal  and  other  prominent 
intriguers  in  New  Orleans.  Huerta,  who  had  been 
driven  from  Mexico,  was  brought  back  to  America 
and  secluded  in  Brooklyn  until  it  was  thought  the 
opportune  moment  had  come  to  strike  the  blow. 
Pretending  to  journey  to  San  Francisco,  he  started 
to  his  native  country,  but  his  attempt  was  foiled 
by  his  arrest  at  El  Paso.  The  Papal  agents  are  now 
busy  inciting  the  ignorant  peons  to  make  raids  upon 
United  States  territory  in  order  that  our  army  may 
invade  Mexico  and  by  force  put  down  the  movement 
to  destroy  the  power  of  the  priesthood. 

Nor  is  this  the  end  of  Papal  intrigues  in  this 
country.  Romish  teachers  are  insinuating  them- 
selves in  our  free  public  schools.  The  press  has 
already  succumbed  to  the  tyranny  of  the  Papal 
power.     The  army  and  navy  are  rapidly  becoming 

817 


THE    REVELATION    OF    JESUS    CHRIST 

Romanized.  The  chief  justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States  is  a  servant  of  the  Pope, 
as  well  as  an  associate  justice.  The  Treasurer  of 
the  United  States  is  also  a  servant  of  the  Pope. 
Another  servant  of  the  Pope,  a  secretary  to  the 
President,  is  in  possession  of  all  of  our  governmental 
secrets.  Through  Papat  intrigues  with  our  politicians 
and  lawmakers,  human  rights  are  gradually  slipping 
from  the  people  into  the  hands  of  Papal  officers 
who  have  been  elected  on  party  tickets.  These 
intrigues  can  lead  to  nothing  but  violence  and 
rebellion  by  an  outraged  people  when  America 
finally  yields  to  Papal  dominion.  For  these  reasons 
the  Papacy,  as  a  system  of  political  intrigue,  will 
be  the  most  prominent  party  among  the  opponents 
of  Christ.  The  Pope  is  very  prominent  in  the  public 
press  to-day  as  having  probably  a  chief  part  in 
bringing  about  supposed  peace.  If  he  had  kept 
his  apostate  hands  out  of  the  affairs  of  the  nations, 
the  present  war  would  never  have  been  staged,  and 
no  peace  can  be  brought  about  with  his  satanic 
connivance. 

The  kings  of  the  earth  are  there.  They  have 
all  been  entangled  with  popish  schemes  so  long 
that  it  would  be  impossible  for  them  not  to  be  there. 
The  idea  of  kingly  rule  would  long  since  have  been 
nothing  but  a  memory  had  it  not  been  for  the  apos- 
tate teaching  of  the  Roman  Church.  The  Papacy  and 
the  kings  are  helpless  without  each  other.  The 
Papacy  must  be  carried  by  the  political  power  or  else 
it  perishes.  The  kings  must  be  bolstered  up  by  the 
apostate  teaching  of  Rome  or  else  they  perish.  They 

818 


DESTRUCTION    OF    BABYLON 

are  like  Siamese  twins ;  they  must  both  live  together 
or  they  must  perish  together.  Of  course  the  armies 
are  there.  They  are  the  only  means  known  either 
to  the  Papacy  or  the  kings  to  accomplish  their 
purposes.  There  could  exist  neither  kings  nor 
Papacy  without  armies. 

The  opposing  forces  are  lined  up  in  array  against 
each  other:  physical  forces  on  the  one  hand  and 
spiritual  forces  on  the  other.  Which  will  prevail? 
The  seventh  angel  pours  out  his  bowl  of  wrath,  as 
recorded  in  Rev.  16:  17,  upon  these  boastful  armies; 
the  oppressed  of  earth  already  being  organized, 
as  birds  of  prey,  swoop  down  upon  them,  and  the 
battle  of  Armageddon  is  waged  with  all  of  its  fury. 
When  the  smoke  of  the  battle  has  cleared  away, 
the  Papal  intrigues  will  be  at  an  end  forever.  The 
monstrous  idea  of  absolute  sovereignty  which  is 
represented  in  the  Pope  and  the  kings  of  the  earth 
will  have  been  completely  blotted  from  the  earth. 
The  false  prophet  also  goes  down  to  defeat  in  that 
great  struggle.  The  false  prophet  is  here  identified 
with  the  two-horned  beast  that  created  the  image 
of  the  beast  after  the  pattern  of  the  Roman  Empire 
as  recorded  in  Rev.  13:11-15.  He  represents  the 
false  religious  teaching  which  made  the  Roman 
Church  possible,  and  which  perpetuated  it  after  its 
creation,  for  he  gave  "breath  to  the  image  of  the 
beast."  It  signifies,  then,  that  at  the  end  of  Armaged- 
don all  of  the  apostate  Papal  dogmas  and  traditions 
will  be  blotted  from  the  earth  forever,  as  well  as 
those  who  teach  them.  With  these  will  be  all  of 
the   other    false   doctrines   that    emanate    from   the 

319 


THE    REVELATION    OF    JESUS    CHRIST 

father  of  lies,  to  pervert  mankind  and   lead  them 
away  from  Christ. 

The  doctrines  of  kings  having  proven  a  failure 
in  the  final  test,  and  the  Papacy  having  drunk  to 
the  dregs  of  the  cup  of  the  wrath  of  God,  and  its 
false  teaching  being  driven  from  the  earth,  it  is 
now  the  opportune  moment  for  the  armies  of  the 
Son  of  God  to  enter  into  action.  Only  one  weapon 
is  used  and  that  is  the  Bible.  "The  rest  were  killed 
with  the  sword  of  him  who  sat  upon  the  horse." 
This  signifies  that  a  mighty  revival  of  Christianity 
takes  place  at  this  time,  and  it  corresponds  to  the 
resurrection  of  the  two  witnesses  referred  to  in 
Rev.  11:11.  Men  have  come  to  their  senses  at 
last,  and  have  learned  from  bitter  experience  that 
their  theories  were  wrong  and  that  the  teaching 
of  Christ  is  the  only  true  basis  of  character  and 
life.  They  readily  accept  Christ  as  King,  and  a 
new  order  of  things  begins  to  arise  upon  the  wreck 
of  thrones  and  empires  and  the  abominable  apos- 
tasies of  the  old  order. 


CHAPTER  XV. 
ZION'S   GLAD    MORNING 

THE  world's  night  approaches  the  dawn  of  a 
new  day,  and  the  glorious  sun  of  Zion's  glad 
morning  is  betokened  by  the  mighty  victories  being 
won  by  the  preaching  of  the  word  of  God,  as 
indicated  in  the  conclusion  of  the  last  chapter.  The 
beast  and  the  false  prophet  have  both  been  defeated 
and  have  been  cast  from  the  world  into  a  place 
called  "the  lake  of  fire  that  burneth  with  brimstone." 
Humanity  will  no  longer  be  tormented  or  deceived 
by  their  apostate  teaching.  The  Devil  is  now 
uncloaked.  The  beast  and  the  false  prophet  being 
gone,  he  has  no  institution  in  which  he  may  rein- 
carnate himself  and  deceive  men  longer.  He  is 
left  in  his  true  spiritual  character  as  the  enemy  of 
God  and  men.  He  is  taken  prisoner  and  bound 
with  a  great  chain,  and  he  is  "cast  into  the  abyss," 
and  it  is  shut  and  sealed  over  him,  "that  he  should 
deceive  the  nations  no  more,  until  the  thousand 
years  should  be  finished"  (Rev.  20:  1-3). 

A  chain  signifies  anything  that  prevents  free 
action.  Error  is  sometimes  called  a  chain.  Love 
is  a  chain  that  holds  its  captives  enslaved.  Pride 
is  also  a  chain  that  makes  us  slaves  to  custom.  The 
law  of  our  parents  is  said  by  the  Scriptures  to  be 

21  321 


THE     REVELATION     OF    JESUS     CHRIST 

as  chains  about  our  necks  (Pro v.  1:8,  9).  In  this 
case  the  chain  could  be  none  of  these  things,  but 
could  only  be  the  eternal  truth  of  the  living  Christ, 
and  its  links  were  forged  by  the  preaching  of  the 
gospel  facts.  As  a  result  of  this  revival,  the 
prophecy  of  Isaiah  is  fulfilled.  "The  earth  shall 
be  full  of  the  knowledge  of  Jehovah,  as  the  waters 
cover  the  sea"  (Isa.  11:9).  The  Devil  is  so 
strongly  bound  by  the  chain  of  truth  that  he  is 
unable  to  disturb  mankind  for  a  thousand  years. 
The  apostle,  not  wishing  to  interrupt  the  descrip- 
tion of  the  judgment  of  the  Papacy,  waits  until  he 
has  finished  the  account  of  its  final  doom  before  he 
describes  the  fortunes  of  the  saints  during  that 
period.  He  now  proceeds  to  give  an  account  of  an 
event  that  occurred  at  the  time  that  the  heavens 
were  opened  and  the  white-horse  rider  appeared. 

First  Resurrec-  "And  I   saw  thrones,   and  they  sat 

..  upon   them,   and   judgment   was   given 

unto  them  :  and  7  saw  the  souls  of  them 
that  had  been  beheaded  for  the  testimony  of  Jesus,  and  for 
the  word  of  God,  and  such  as  worshipped  not  the  beast, 
neither  his  image,  and  received  not  the  mark  upon  their  fore- 
head and  upon  their  hand ;  and  they  lived,  and  reigned  with 
Christ  a  thousand  years.  The  rest  of  the  dead  lived  not  until 
the  thousand  years  should  be  finished.  This  is  the  first  resur- 
rection" (Rev.  20:4,  5). 

Those  who  enjoyed  the  gluin-.L*G  privilege  of 
this  first  resurrection  are  identified.  They  had  been 
"beheaded"  for  the  testimony  of  Jesus,  and  they 
had  not  been  associated  with  the  Papacy.  Some 
would   use  the  term   "beheaded"   in   a   literal   sense 

322  , 


ZION'S    GLAD    MORNING 


and  make  these  ruling  ones  as  the  martyrs,  but  it 
must  be  understood  in  a  figurative  sense,  in  harmony 
with  the  remainder  of  the  book.  Paul  identifies 
those  who  have  a  part  in  the  first  resurrection  and 
the  time  at  which  it  takes  place.  "For  the  Lord 
himself  shall  descend  from  heaven,  with  a  shout, 
with  the  voice  of  the  archangel,  and  with  the  trump 
of  God:  and  the  dead  in  Christ  shall  rise  first; 
then  we  that  are  alive,  that  are  left,  shall  together 
with  them  be  caught  up  in  the  clouds,  to  meet  the 
Lord  in  the  air:  and  so  shall  we  ever  be  with  the 
Lord"  (1  Thess.  4:16,  17). 

The  time  at  which  the  first  resurrection  occurs 
is,  then,  at  the  sound  of  the  trumpet  of  the  seventh 
angel,  when  the  Lord  first  appears.  The  exalted 
ones  are  all  of  the  "dead  in  Christ"  as  well  as  the 
Christians  who  are  alive  at  the  time.  Paul  gives 
additional  information  concerning  this  event  in 
writing  to  the  Corinthian  Christians.  "Behold,  I 
tell  you  a  mystery:  We  all  shall  not  sleep,  but  we 
shall  all  be  changed,  in  a  moment,  in  the  twinkling 
of  an  eye,  at  the  last  trump:  for  the  trumpet  shall 
sound,  and  the  dead  shall  be  raised  incorruptible, 
and  we  shall  be  changed"  (1  Cor.  15:51,  52).  The 
time  i?  confirmed  here.  The  resurrection  will  occur 
at  the  appearance  of  Christ,  and  it  will  not  require 
a  long  time  to  accomplish  it.  It  occurs  in  a  moment, 
in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye.  In  the  twenty-third 
verse  of  this  same  chapter  he  described  these 
ascended  saints  as  "they  who  are  Christ's  at  his 
coming."  He  gives  the  further  information  in  this 
chapter   that   these    will    be    given    spiritual    bodies. 

323 


THE    REVELATION    OF    JESUS    CHRIST 

We  will  not  presume  to  speak  of  these  spiritual 
bodies,  for  the  Scripture  has  not  spoken  further 
than  to  say  that  they  differ  in  glory  (1  Cor.  15: 
41,  42). 

Jesus  refers  to  the  fact  that  Abraham  and  Isaac 
and  Jacob  shall  be  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven  (Matt. 
8:11).  He  promised  his  apostles  that  they  should 
sit  upon  twelve  thrones,  judging  the  twelve  tribes 
of  Israel  (Matt.  19:28).  Some  of  these  apostles 
were  not  beheaded,  John  himself  having  died  a 
natural  death.  Therefore  we  know  that  the  term 
"beheaded"  must  be  understood  in  a  figurative 
sense.  It  describes  all  of  the  godly.  Paul  says: 
"Yea,  and  all  that  would  live  godly  in  Christ  Jesus 
shall  suffer  persecution"  (be  "beheaded")  (2  Tim. 
3:12). 

Before  the  great  struggles  described  under  the 
vision  of  the  seventh  wrath  angel,  this  first  resur- 
rection occurs.  The  saints  are  caught  up  to  meet 
the  Lord  in  the  air,  where,  removed  from  the  scenes 
of  strife  and  turmoil  taking  place  on  the  earth, 
they  await  the  moment  when  the  heavenly  army 
enters  the  conflict  with  the  sharp  sword.  In  the 
meantime,  a  new  factor  has  entered  in  the  situation. 
With  the  downfall  of  the  Turkish  Empire  in  1927 
A.  D.,  the  way  "for  the  kings  that  come  from  the 
sunrising"  is  prepared.  Jerusalem,  the  holy  city, 
will  again  be  inhabited  by  its  rightful  owners,  the 
seed  of  Abraham.  God  has  not  forsaken  the  Jew. 
Joel  identifies  the  time  of  the  return  of  the  Jew 
to  his  native  land  with  that  of  the  gathering  of  the 
nations  together  for  battle. 

324 


ZION'S    GLAD    MORNING 


Return  of  the  "Behold,  in  those  days,  and  in  that 

J  time,  when  I  shall  bring  back  the  cap- 

tivity of  Judah  and  Jerusalem,  I  will 
gather  all  nations,  and  will  bring  them  down  into  the  valley 
of  Jehoshaphat;  and  I  will  execute  judgment  upon  them 
there  for  my  people  and  for  my  heritage  Israel,  whom  they 
have  scattered  among  the  nations"  (Joel  3:1-3). 

The  gathering  of  the  nations  began  in  1914  A.  D. 
The  Zionist  movement  has  been  developing  for 
some  time,  and  it  only  remains  for  the  land  to  be 
freed  from  the  Mohammedan  for  the  Jews  to  flow 
back  to  the  Holy  Land  from  the  uttermost  parts 
of  the  earth.  This  return  of  the  Jews  to  their 
native  land  would  be  of  no  especial  significance  were 
it  not  connected  with  their  release  from  bondage. 
God  had  warned  them  in  the  beginning  that  if  they 
violated  his  covenant  they  would  be  punished  "seven 
times"  (i.  e.,  2,520  years)  for  their  sins.  The 
primary  beginning  of  their  punishment  was  in 
606  B.  C,  and  would  run  to  1914  A.  D.  The  next 
step  in  their  punishment  was  in  599  B.  C,  when 
"all  Jerusalem  was  carried  away  captive."  Two 
thousand,  five  hundred  and  twenty  years  from 
this  date  would  run  to  1921  A.  D.,  when  there 
will  be  a  large  influx  into  the  Holy  Land.  The 
third  and  final  stage  in  their  punishment  was 
in  586  B.  C,  when  Jerusalem  was  completely 
destroyed.  Two  thousand,  five  hundred  and  twenty 
years  from  this  date  would  run  to  1934  A.  D.,  the 
time  for  the  third  and  final  influx  of  the  Jews  to 
the  land  of  their  fathers. 

These  2,520  years  of  desolation  will  have  taught 

325 


THE    REVELATION    OF    JESUS    CHRIST 

them  the  lesson  that  God's  covenants  must  be  kept, 
and  they  return  to  the  promised  land  in  contrition 
for  their  past  and  ready  for  obedience  to  all  that 
God  might  require  of  them.  As  they  go  up  to 
Jerusalem  rejoicing,  they  turn  to  Jer.  31 :  31-34,  and 
discover  that  a  new  covenant  has  been  ordained  for 
them.  No  longer  will  they  offer  the  sacrifices  of 
bulls  and  of  goats,  whose  blood  can  not  take  away 
sin,  but  the  Lamb  of  God  is  the  perfect  sacrifice 
of  the  new  covenant.  They  will  accept  Christ, 
whom  they  formerly  rejected. 

These  Jews  become  the  basis  of  the  great  world 
revival  when  the  armies  of  heaven  enter  the  conflict 
after  the  struggle  in  the  valley  of  Jehoshaphat. 
When  the  King  of  glory  shall  come  the  second 
time  to  Jerusalem,  the  hills  and  valleys  of  that 
ancient  land  will  echo  and  re-echo  with  the  mighty 
hosannas  and  shoutings  of  all  of  returned  Israel. 
Remembering  their  former  treatment  of  him,  they 
will  make  amends  as  far  as  possible  by  preaching 
the  gospel  throughout  the  world  with  burning  words 
pouring  from  souls  aflame  with  the  love  of  Jesus' 
name.  Paul,  writing  concerning  the  Jews,  said: 
'  For  if  the  casting  away  of  them  is  the  reconciling 
of  the  world,  what  shall  the  receiving  of  them  he, 
but  life  from  the  dead?"  (Rom.  11 :  15).  And  again 
he  says:  "For  I  would  not,  brethren,  have  you 
ignorant  of  this  mystery,  lest  ye  be  wise  in  your 
own  conceits,  that  a  hardening  in  part  hath  befallen 
Israel,  until  the  fulness  of  the  Gentiles  be  come  in" 
(Rom.  11:25).  The  attitude  of  the  Jews  toward 
Christ  and  Christianity  is  only  temporary  and  will 

326 


ZION'S    GLAD    MORNING 


disappear  entirely  by  1934  A.  D.,  when  the  fullness 

of  the  Gentiles  will  be  complete. 

The  glorious  age  so  long  fore- 
The    Millennium        .    i  r  i  i  r      j  •      ^u 

tola  has  now  been  realized  m  the 

kingdom  of  which  Christ  is  King.  It  is  that  king- 
dom which  Daniel  spoke  of  when  he  interpreted  the 
dream  of  Nebuchadnezzar  (Dan.  2:44).  It  is  the 
fifth  great  universal  world  empire,  and  its  tranquility 
and  peace  shall  be  undisturbed  for  a  thousand  years. 
This  is  no  idle  dream  of  imaginary  dreamers.  The 
golden  age  of  the  world's  history  has  been  foretold 
by  all  of  the  prophets  under  the  inspiration  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  Peter  speaks  of  it  as  "the  times  of 
restoration  of  all  things,  whereof  God  spake  by  the 
mouth  of  his  holy  prophets  that  have  been  from  of 
old"  (Acts  3:21). 

Man  is  once  again  in  harmonious  relation  with 
his  Maker  as  he  was  previous  to  the  entrance  of 
the  serpent  into  Eden.  Some  indication  of  the 
character  of  that  kingdom  and  of  the  conditions 
prevailing  during  that  period  may  be  gleaned  from 
many  Scriptures  referring  to  it.  The  twelve  apostles 
are  upon  twelve  thrones.  This  would  indicate  that 
the  teaching  of  the  apostles  will  be  the  absolute 
law  during  that  period,  when  all  who  were  privileged 
to  have  a  part  in  the  first  resurrection  will  have 
a  share  in  the  government.  In  the  parable  of  the 
pounds,  recorded  in  Luke  19:11-27,  Jesus  describes 
how  this  share  is  determined.  He  left  his  servants 
in  charge  of  his  goods,  and  upon  his  return,  having 
received  the  kingdom,  he  calls  his  servants  before 
him  to  give  an  account  of  how  they  had  managed 

327 


THE    REVELATION    OF    JESUS    CHRIST 

his  goods.  Unto  one  whose  pound  had  gained  ten 
pounds,  he  said:  "Have  thou  authority  over  ten 
cities"  (v.  17).  To  the  one  whose  pound  had  gained 
five  pounds,  he  said :  "Have  thou  authority  over 
five  cities"  (v.  19).  Thus  the  degree  of  authority 
which  we  will  exercise  in  the  kingdom  will  be  in 
proportion  to  the  faithfulness  of  our  service  in  the 
Christian  dispensation. 

Isaiah  describes  the  conditions  prevailing  during 
that  golden  age  of  the  millennium,  in  these  words : 

"And  the  wolf  shall  dwell  with  the  lamb,  and  the  leopard 
shall  lie  down  with  the  kid ;  and  the  calf  and  the  young  lion 
and  the  fatling  together;  and  a  little  child  shall  lead  them. 
And  the  cow  and  the  bear  shall  feed;  their  young  ones  shall 
lie  down  together;  and  the  lion  shall  eat  straw  like  the  ox. 
And  the  suckling  child  shall  play  on  the  hole  of  the  asp,  and 
the  weaned  child  shall  put  his  hand  on  the  adder's  den.  They 
shall  not  hurt  nor  destroy  in  all  my  holy  mountain ;  for  the 
earth  shall  be  full  of  the  knowledge  of  Jehovah,  as  the 
waters  cover  the  sea"  (Isa.  11:6-9). 

The  beasts  that  are  mentioned  here  denote 
nations,  and  the  description  denotes  absolute  inter- 
national peace.  No  nation  will  attack  another  nor 
wrong  another,  and  the  reason  is  also  indicated. 
The  world  is  full  of  the  knowledge  of  Jehovah.  The 
Bible  is  the  guide  in  the  conduct  of  international 
affairs.  If  it  were  so  to-day,  not  another  shot 
would  be  fired,  and  every  soldier  would  lay  down 
his  arms  and  return  to  mill,  factory  or  farm.  All 
national  and  racial  differences  would  be  forgotten 
and  no  hatred  or  jealousy  would  ever  be  manifested. 
Again  the  same  prophet  gives  additional  informa- 
tion: 

328 


ZION'S    GLAD    MORNING 


"There  shall  be  no  more  thence  an  infant  of  days,  nor  an 
old  man  that  hath  not  filled  his  days;  for  the  child  shall  die 
a  hundred  years  old,  and  the  sinner  being  a  hundred  years  old 
shall  be  accursed.  And  they  shall  build  houses,  and  inhabit 
them;  and  they  shall  plant  vineyards,  and  eat  the  fruit  of 
them.  They  shall  not  build,  and  another  inhabit;  they  shall 
not  plant,  and  another  eat :  for  as  the  days  of  a  tree  shall  be 
the  days  of  my  people,  and  my  chosen  shall  long  enjoy  the 
work  of  their  hands.  They  shall  not  labor  in  vain,  nor  bring 
forth  for  calamity"  (Isa.  65:20-23). 

The  average  length  of  life  will  be  greatly  in- 
creased during  the  millennium,  due  to  righteous 
living,  but  death  will  still  enter  homes  as  he  does 
now.  The  most  striking  difference  between  the 
conditions  of  that  period  and  the  present  tirne  is 
found  in  the  social  conditions.  No  man  will  wrong 
his  neighbor.  Every  man  will  enjoy  the  entire  fruit 
of  his  own  labor.  This  is  the  very  principle  for 
which  labor-unions  and  socialists  contend.  How- 
ever, they  are  striving  to  attain  that  condition,  each 
in  his  own  way,  without  any  regard  to  the  teaching 
of  Christ  in  the  New  Testament,  and  can  do  nothing 
but  bring  disaster  upon  themselves  and  the  world. 
If  society  would  accept  Christ  and  put  his  teaching 
into  practice,  the  golden  age  would  dawn  now,  as 
well  as  in  1972  A.  D.  Mankind  must  learn  from 
bitter  experience  that  God^s  law  is  the  only  true 
and  safe  guide  to  conduct,  and  therefore  must  pass 
through  Armageddon  and  realize  that  the  world-old 
idea  that  man  can  attain  unto  his  ideals  by  brute 
force  or  without  regard  to  Christ  is  false.  In  that 
age,  what  a  man  enjoys  will  be  in  proportion  to 
his  labor,  for  he  will  enjoy  all  of  the  fruit  of  his 

829 


THE    REVELATION    OF    JESUS    CHRIST 

labor,  be  it  little  or  much.  During  that  period  a 
man  will  not  labor  in  vain,  as  is  frequently  the 
case  now.  No  calamity  will  come  to  sweep  away 
the  competence  which  has  been  saved  by  frugality 
and  honest  labor.  He  shall  inhabit  the  home  that 
he  builds,  and  there  will  be  no  sheriffs  to  sell  it 
under  the  hammer. 

The  rule  of  that  period,  while  mild,  will  be 
absolute.  It  is  described  by  the  figurative  expres- 
sion :  "He  shall  rule  the  nations  with  a  rod  of 
iron."  Christ  will  not  suffer  his  law  to  be  broken. 
An  indication  of  the  method  of  law  enforcement  in 
that  age  is  found  in  Acts  3 :  22,  23 :  "Moses  indeed 
said,  A  prophet  shall  the  Lord  God  raise  up  unto 
you  from  among  your  brethren,  like  unto  me ;  to 
him  shall  ye  hearken  in  all  things  whatsoever  he 
shall  speak  unto  you.  And  it  shall  be,  that  every 
soul  that  shall  not  hearken  to  that  prophet,  shall 
be  utterly  destroyed  from  among  the  people." 

.  At   the   end   of   the   thousand 
Satan  Loosed  c   i.         •      i  j    r  ^i 

years    batan    is   loosed    from    the 

abyss.  No  intimation  is  given  as  to  why  righteous- 
ness should  wane  sufficiently  to  enable  Satan  to 
escape  from  his  prison-house  at  this  time,  but  the 
moment  his  chain  is  broken  he  goes  forth  to  deceive 
and  bring  about  a  rebellion  against  Christ  and  his 
people.  The  description  of  the  events  connected 
with  this  rebellion  is  important  because  of  the  plain 
statements  it  contains  concerning  the  place  where 
these  events  occur.  This  is  a  historical  event 
which  occurs  on  earth  and  not  in  some  far-off 
world  among  the  stars.     "Satan  shall  be  loosed  out 

330 


ZION'S    GLAD    MORNING 


of  his  prison,  and  shall  come  forth  to  deceive  the 
nations  which  are  in  the  four  corners  of  the  earth" 
(Rev.  20:7,  8).  The  point  to  notice  is  that  there 
are  nations  "on  earth"  at  the  close  of  the  millennium 
period.  The  "camp  of  the  saints"  is  on  earth  at 
the  close  of  and  during  that  golden  age.  The  world 
was  not  destroyed  in  a  physical  sense  when  Jesus 
came,  nor  were  the  resurrected  dead  transported  to 
some  distant  realm,  to  spend  their  time  in  idleness. 
They  were  raised  and  clothed  with  spiritual  bodies 
to  rule  in  the  world,  one  "over  five  cities"  or  one 
"over  ten  cities."  Men  live,  love  and  labor  during 
that  period,  have  sunshine  and  rain,  seedtime  and 
harvest,  summer  and  winter,  exactly  as  at  present. 
"They  build  houses  and  dwell  in  them:  they  plant 
vineyards  and  eat  the  fruit  of  them."  The  only 
thing  that  renders  the  golden  age  any  different  from 
the  present  is  that  the  law  of  Christ  prevails  then. 

The  rebellion  that  burst  forth  at  the  end  of  the 
thousand  years  was  of  considerable  proportions. 
Gog  and  Ad^agog  seem  to  be  the  principal  disturbing 
factors  in  the  rebellion.  Ezekiel  refers  to  Gog  and 
Magog  in  Ezek.  38:2,  3.  From  his  description  we 
learn  that  Gog  is  the  chief  prince  of  Meshech  and 
Tubal,  and  hence  corresponds  to  the  rulers  of  the 
Russian  nation.  Magog  is  the  territory  ruled  over 
by  Gog.  It  would  therefore  seem  that  it  will  be 
the  descendants  of  the  Russian  people  who  will 
take  the  most  prominent  part  in  the  attack  upon 
the  "camp  of  the  saints,"  or  the  church,  to  destroy 
her  if  possible. 

From  Ezekiel's  reference  to  the  insurrection   it 

331 


THE    REVELATION    OF    JESUS    CHRIST 

seems  that  the  scene  of  the  disturbance  will  be  in 
Palestine  around  the  very  capital  of  the  millennial 
kingdom.  It  will  be  of  short  duration,  however,  for 
the  disturbers  are  destroyed  and  consumed,  and  the 
Devil  was  cast  into  the  place  called  ''the  lake  of 
fire  that  burneth  with  brimstone."  There,  in  com- 
pany with  his  former  compatriots  in  iniquity,  the 
beast  and  the  false  prophet,  he  spends  eternity. 

The  moment  has  now  arrived 
"■  for  the  last  great  assize.  Paul, 
in  writing  to  the  G^rinthians,  says  that  the  resur- 
rection occurs  in  three  separate  stages.  "For  as  in 
Adam  all  die,  so  also  in  Christ  shall  all  be  made 
alive.  But  each  in  his  own  order:  Christ  the  first- 
fruits;  then  they  that  are  Christ's,  at  his  coming. 
Then  cometh  the  end,  when  he  shall  deliver  up  the 
kingdom  to  God,  even  the  Father;  when  he  shall 
have  abolished  all  rule  and  all  authority  and  power" 
(1  Cor.  15:22-24).  Christ  arose  from  the  dead 
on  the  third  day  and  is  become  the  firstfruits.  This 
is  the  first  stage.  At  his  second  coming,  "they  that 
are  Christ's"  shall  arise.  This  is  the  second  stage. 
"Then  cometh  the  end."  This  is  the  third  stage. 
The  time  of  this  third  stage  is  definitely  indicated: 
"when  he  shall  have  abolished  all  rule  and  all 
authority  and  power,"  and  made  himself  absolute 
monarch  of  the  universe.  "For  he  must  reign  till 
he  hath  put  all  his  enemies  under  his  feet.  The 
last  enemy  that  shall  be  abolished  is  death"  (1  Cor. 
15:25,  26). 

It    is    strange    that    some    people    imagine    that 
death  comes  and  takes  away  a  loved  one  at  the  will 

332 


ZION'S    GLAD    MORNING 


of  Christ  as  a  judgment  against  them,  when  this 
Scripture  plainly  states  that  death  is  an  enemy  of 
Christ.  Death  does  not  com.e  at  the  bidding  of 
Christ,  for  it  is  his  enemy  and  is  not  controlled  by 
him.  He  will  not  gain  complete  ascendency  over 
death  until  this  third  stage  in  the  resurrection. 
When  he  shall  have  succeeded  in  raising  the  wicked 
dead,  death  itself  is  completely  vanquished  and  its 
power  is  forever  broken.  Then  shall  death  be 
"swallowed  in  victory"   (1   Cor.  15:54). 

"The  rest  of  the  dead"  that,  were  left  undisturbed 
at  Christ's  second  coming,  as  well  as  all  of  those 
who  lived  during  the  thousand  years  of  the  millen- 
nial kingdom  and  during  "the  Httle  season"  that 
followed  it^  now  put  on  incorruptible  bodies  as  they 
arise  from  all  of  the  graveyards  of  earth  and  sweep 
in  vast  assembly  into  the  judgment-hall  of  the  ever- 
lasting God.  The  history  of  the  universe  will  never 
record  a  spectacle  fraught  with  more  solemn  conse- 
quences. The  judgment  is  determined  according  to 
the  deeds  done  in  the  body,  and  every  one  shall 
receive  exactly  according  as  his  work  shall  be. 
Opportunities  and  knowledge  and  environment  of 
the  individual  shall  all  be  taken  into  consideration 
at  this  assize.  Those  who  were  privileged  to  have 
a  part  in  the  first  resurrection  are  not  concerned 
in  this  judgment,  for  "the  second  death  hath  no 
power"  over  them.  It  is,  however,  the  moment  of 
their  eternal  justification  in  the  eyes  of  the  universe. 
As  a  result  of  that  judgment,  death  and  Hades 
were  cast  into  the  "lake  of  fire,"  or,  as  it  is  called, 
"the   second   death."     With   them,    also,   were   cast 

333 


THE   REVELATION    OF   JESUS    CHRIST 

those   who   were   "not    found   written   in   the   book 

of  life."     The  overthrow  of  evil  is  complete. 

As  the  seer  of  Patmos  turned 
New  Heavens  and       c  ^i_       •    j  ^  i_- 

irom    the    judgment    scene,    his 

New  Earth  ,     .  .  ^^ 

wondering  eyes  lell  upon  a  trans- 
formed universe.  While  the  last  assize  had  been 
progressing,  the  earth,  having  been  purged  of 
death  and  Satan  and  all  of  the  forces  of  evil  that 
have  marred  it,  has  been  restored  to  a  place  such 
as  man  has  never  beheld.  The  conditions  that  were 
formerly  known  to  the  human  race  have  forever 
disappeared,  and,  instead,  there  is  found  only  that 
environment  that  meets  the  needs  of  a  soul  in  its 
eternal  state.  We  do  not  presume  to  describe  the 
conditions  indicated  by  the  beautiful  imagery  given 
us  by  the  enraptured  prophet  of  God,  any  more 
than  that  indicated  by  the  "lake  of  fire."  We  only 
await  with  eager  expectancy  the  glorious  moment 
when  we  shall  have  blessed  fellowship  with  the 
saints  in  the  new  Jerusalem. 

It  is  enough  to  know  that  the  wonderful  city 
and  that  blessed  state  will  be  in  the  transformed 
earth.  There,  amidst  the  scenes  of  our  former  con- 
flicts and  sufferings  and  sorrows,  we  will  dwell 
eternally  in  heavenly  bliss,  and  whatever  that  experi- 
ence may  be,  we  shall  be  satisfied.  "And  I  saw  the 
holy  city,  the  new  Jerusalem,  coming  down  out  of 
heaven  fi-om  God,  made  ready  as  a  bride  adorned 
for  her  husband.  And  I  heard  a  great  voice  out 
of  the  throne  saying,  Behold,  the  tabernacle  of  God 
is  with  men"   (Rev.  21:2,  3). 

The  crystal  stream  of  the  v/ater  of  life,  flowing 

334 


ZION'S    GLAD    MORNING 


in  the  midst  of  the  city,  quenches  every  spiritual 
thirst,  the  fruit  of  the  tree  of  Ufe  satisfies  every 
spiritual  desire,  and  the  leaves  of  the  tree  guarantee 
against  any  spiritual  disease  that  might  ever  attack 
the  redeemed  race.  The  glory  of  God  fills  the 
world,  and  all  of  his  servants  serve  him. 

The  wonderful  panorama 
which  swept  before  the  eyes  of 
the  enraptured  exile  of  Patmos 
has  come  to  its  close,  and  as  the  glimpse  of  the 
glorious  conclusion,  in  which  he  sees  the  "saints 
reigning  for  ever  and  ever,"  fades  away,  the  angel 
stands  before  him,  assuring  him  that  everything 
which  he  has  seen  in  vision  shall  be  realized  in 
fact.  Twenty  centuries  have  passed  by  since  that 
time,  nations  have  struggled  and  fought  with  each 
other  on  the  fields  of  battle,  thrones  have  tottered 
and  fallen,  and  mighty  changes  have  taken  place 
in  the  affairs  of  men  since  that  notable  moment. 
As  we  read  the  record  of  the  unbelieving  historian, 
Gibbon,  as  well  as  that  of  others,  we  are  forced 
to  realize  that  we  have  beheld  a  miracle  m_ore 
marvelous  than  any  that  was  performed  two  thou- 
sand years  ago :  the  com.plete  fulfillment  of  every 
detail  of  the  three  series  of  visions  in  the  order  in 
which  they  were  given  until  the  present  time.  The 
Bible  is  then,  unquestionably,  a  divinely  given  book. 
As  we  witness  the  exact  fulfillment  of  every 
detail  of  prophecy,  in  the  mighty  European  struggle 
which  began  on  time  in  1914  A.  D.,  we  realize  that 
the  next  event  of  certain  fulfillment  is  that  referred 
to  in   the   last  divinely   spoken   word   in   the   Bible: 

.335 


THE    REVELATION    OF    JESUS    CHRIST 

"He  who  testifieth  these  things  saith,  Yea :  I  come 
quickly.     Amen :   come,   Lord  Jesus." 

May  the  prevaiHng  ideas  concerning  the  myster- 
ies of  Revelation  be  banished  from  the  mind  of 
every  saint  of  God,  and  may  they  all  come  to 
study  the  simple  truths  that  it  contains,  that  faith 
may  grow  sufficiently  strong  to  withstand  the  shock 
of  the  crumbling  of  the  nations  as  the  seventh  angel 
approaches  to  inaugurate  the  kingdom  of  Christ  in 
their  final  overthrow.  May  this  study  awaken  in 
them  such  faith  in  the  eternal  verities  of  God's 
word  that  they  may  rely  upon  them  with  absolute 
assurance,  and  sound  forth  to  the  uttermost  parts 
of  the  earth  the  gospel  of  the  kingdom,  with  a 
fervor  and  zeal  as  in  the  days  of  the  apostles,  is 
our  prayer. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 
THE  TIMES  AND  THE  SEASONS 

IT  is  fitting,  before  we  close  this  volume,  that 
some  further  explanation  of  the  "times  and  the 
seasons"  referred  to  in  the  preceding  chapters  be 
given,  that  the  student  may  not  be  uncertain  as  to 
the  reasons  for  stating  that  certain  prophetic  events 
will  occur  at  certain  definite  periods.  The  time 
element  is  one  of  the  most  important  considerations 
of  prophecy,  and  is  as  truly  of  divine  inspiration 
as  is  the  symbolic  description  of  the  event  to  be 
fulfilled.  Make  the  time  element  of  the  prophetic 
record  uncertain,  and  you  have  rendered  the  pre- 
dictive portions  of  the  Scripture  valueless.  It  would 
be  impossible  to  be  certain  as  to  whether  any 
historical  event  was  the  particular  one  that  the 
prophets  have  spoken  of,  unless  the  time  in  which 
it  was  to  occur  was  specifically  stated  or  other 
information  given  that  would  show  its  chronological 
relation  to  other  events,  where  the  time  of  occur- 
rence is  given.  Without  the  time  element,  the  ques- 
tion of  the  fulfillment  of  prophecy  is  one  that 
would  always  remain  in  the  domain  of  speculation 
and  guesswork,  but  with  the  definite  time  limits 
of  its  fulfillment  set,  the  historical  occurrence 
described    in    a    prediction    becomes    the    particular 

22  337 


THE    REVELATION    OF    JESUS    CHRIST 

event  which  must  occur  at  the  appointed  time,  or 
the  prophecy  has  failed. 

By  way  of  illustration,  it  would  be  impossible  to 
say  for  certain  whether  the  war  which  began  in 
Europe  in  1914  A.  D.  was  a  fulfillment  of  that 
which  was  spoken  in  the  prophets  or  not,  unless  that 
date  is  specially  pointed  to  as  the  one  in  which  the 
titanic  struggle  was  to  begin.  Many  disasters  have 
been  spoken  of  by  the  prophets  as  events  to  occur 
in  the  future.  It  would  be  a  matter  of  mere  spec- 
ulation as  to  whether  this  particular  event  was 
referred  to  at  all.  It  might  fulfill  every  detail  of 
the  prophetic  description,  but  still  we  could  not  be 
certain  unless  the  time  were  given.  The  prophecy 
might  refer  to  some  similar  war  in  the  past,  or  to 
one  that  might  occur  as  yet  in  the  future.  But  if 
1914  A.  D.  be  the  time  limit  set  in  the  Scripture  for 
the  occurrence  of  the  war,  and  it  breaks  out  and 
continues  in  all  details  as  described  by  the  prophets, 
it  is  not  within  the  realm  of  speculation  at  all,  but 
in  the  domain  of  absolute  certainty.  Every  sane 
mind  must  then  realize  that  it  is  a  complete  fulfill- 
ment of  the  prophetic  record,  and  the  integrity  of 
the  Scripture  is  established.  This  is  the  need  of  the 
generation  in  which  we  live.  The  average  church- 
member  does  not  have  a  firm  faith,  an  absolute, 
unshakable  confidence  in  the  statements  of  God's 
word  and  in  the  promises  of  Christ,  for  the  simple 
reason  that  it  is  not  built  upon  any  truth  that  has 
received  a  divine  demonstration  in  his  own  experi- 
ence. The  definite  fulfillment  of  prophecy  furnishes 
the    divine    demonstration    of    the    integrity    of    the 

338 


THE   TIMES    AND    THE    SEASONS 

Scripture  which  no  sane  mind  can  question  or  doubt, 
and  the  faith  that  rests  upon  the  unquestionable 
fulfillment  of  a  series  of  prophetic  visions,  exactly 
as  predicted,  is  of  a  kind  that  will  withstand  all  of 
the  assaults  of  the  inventive  forces  of  evil. 

This  time  element  of  the  predictive  portions  of 
the  Scripture  has  been  much  abused,  and  the  misuse 
of  it  has  no  doubt  been  a  very  appreciable  cause  of 
the  prevalence  of  the  notion  that  it  is  impossible  to 
understand  prophecy,  and  that  its  interpretation  is 
naught  but  speculation.  An  examination  of  this 
feature  is,  therefore,  necessary.  This  prevalent 
notion,  however,  is  largely  due  to  careless  reading 
of  the  Bible.  There  are  two  statements  of  Scripture 
that  most  scoffers  generally  refer  to  as  their  excuse 
for  disregarding  the  writings  of  the  prophets.  The 
first  of  these  is:  "But  of  that  day  and  hour  knoweth 
no  one,  not  even  the  angels  of  heaven,  neither  the 
Son,  but  the  Father  only"  (Matt.  24:36).  The 
second  is:  'Tt  is  not  for  you  to  know  times  or 
seasons,  which  the  Father  hath  set  within  his  own 
authority"  (Acts  1:7). 

Both  of  these  verses  refer  to  the  same  event  in 
two  phases  of  its  fulfillment.  The  first  is  the 
second  coming  of  Christ,  and  the  second  is  the 
establishment  of  his  kingdom,  which  is  connected 
with  his  return.  To  imply  that  because  the  day  and 
hour  of  the  second  coming  of  Christ  could  not  be 
determined,  therefore  the  date  of  all  other  events 
foretold  could  not  be  known,  although  the  prophet 
had  fixed  the  time,  is  to  read  into  the  Scripture 
what  Jesus  did  not  say.     It  would  make  Jesus  dis- 

339 


THE    REVELATION    OF    JESUS    CHRIST 

credit  Dankl,  for  he  gave  the  date  when  Messiah 
should  come.  To  read  those  words  of  Jesus  as  if 
they  were  true  now  and  always  would  be,  is  but  to 
make  Jesus  limit  the  authority  of  his  Father,  which 
he  did  not  do.  All  that  Jesus  said  was  that,  at  the 
time  in  which  he  was  speaking,  no  one  knew  when 
he  would  come  again  or  when  the  kingdom  should 
be  restored  to  Israel.  It  was  then  a  profound 
mystery,  locked  up  in  the  mind  of  the  Father.  He 
did  not  say  that  God  would  not  reveal,  at  any 
future  time,  the  date  of  this  glorious  event.  He 
said  only  that  the  time  of  his  coming  was  not  known 
by  any  one  but  the  Father.  If  at  any  time  in  the 
future  God  should  choose  to  reveal  the  time  when 
his  Son  would  come  back  to  earth  as  King,  it  was 
his  privilege.  This  God  did.  After  sixty-six 
years  John  saw,  in  a  beatific  vision,  the  same  Jesus 
receive  from  the  Father  the  sealed  book  of  the 
future.  He  saw  the  Lamb  of  God  break  the  seals 
one  by  one  until  the  secrets  of  the  very  last  moments 
of  time  were  laid  bare.  Then,  no  matter  what  was 
a  fact  when  Jesus  spoke,  the  further  revelation  of 
God  has  made  it  possible  to  understand  now  what 
was  not  known  by  angels,  or  even  the  Son  himself, 
before  his   glorification. 

The  student  of  the  Scripture  will  have  noticed 
that  where  the  element  of  time  enters  in,  the  Scrip- 
ture writers  are  very  specific  in  their  mention  of  it. 
Notice  how  careful  the  author  of  Genesis  is  to  men- 
tion the  ages  of  each  of  the  antediluvian  patriarchs ; 
how  carefully  he  divides  the  creative  period  into 
seven  days  and  distinguishes  each  of  them  by  the 

340 


THE    TIMES    AND    THE    SEASONS 

mention  of  the  created  forms  that  appeared  on  that 
day.  For  all  ordinary  purposes  it  would  have 
sufficed  to  have  mentioned  the  created  forms  in 
the  order  of  their  appearance,  but  the  author 
specifically  calls  attention  to  the  definite  day  upon 
which  a  particular  form  of  creative  activity  was 
made  manifest.  The  same  minute  definiteness  may 
be  noticed  in  his  description  of  the  circumstances 
connected  with  the  delug-e.  We  are  told  how  many 
days  the  waters  arose,  when  the  vv^aters  began  to 
abate,  and  the  time  of  different  stages  in  the  abate- 
ment until  the  definite  day  in  which  Noah  came  out 
of  the  ark.  This  definiteness  with  regard  to  time 
is  found  connected  with  events  that  are  symbolic 
in  their  nature.  The  very  evident  purpose  is  that 
the  children  of  God  might  be  guided  by  these 
notes  of  time  in  their  understanding  of  the  grander 
events  that  were  prefigured  in  symbolical  occurrences 
on  a  smaller  and  more  ordinary  scale. 

Locke's  definition  of  time  is: 
"Duration  set  forth  by  measures." 
These  measures  are  of  vast  importance  to  humanity, 
for  without  periods  of  time  of  equal  length,  whether 
large  or  small,  it  would  be  impossible  to  relate 
events  to  each  other.  These  periods  are,  as  a  rule, 
determined  by  the  divine  standards.  The  day  is 
the  smallest  one  of  these  periods  of  time ;  then  come 
the  week,  the  month,  the  year,  the  millennium  and 
the  cycle.  None  of  these  periods  are  established 
by  man.  God  himself  determined  the  length  of  the 
day,  the  week,  the  month,  the  year,  the  millennium 
and  the  cycle.     It  is  beyond  human  power  to  alter 

341 


THE    REVELATION    OF   JESUS    CHRIST 

these  periods  in  any  way.  The  solar  system  meas- 
ures off  for  us  equal  periods  of  time,  and  mankind 
must  conform  to  its  inexorable  law.  One  revolution 
of  the  earth  upon  its  a^is  constitutes  a  day.  One 
revolution  of  the  moon  in  its  orbit  around  the  earth 
constitutes  a  month.  One  revolution  of  the  earth 
in  its  orbit  around  the  sun  constitutes  a  year.  Seven 
revolutions  of  the  earth  on  its  axis  constitute  a 
week.  God  determined  this  in  the  beginning,  and 
not  man.  The  seasons  are  determined  by  the  rela- 
tionship of  the  earth  to  the  sun  in  its  annual  circuit. 
The  cycles  are  determined  by  the  relation  of  the 
earth  to  both  the  sun  and  the  moon  as  they  move 
in  their  orbits.  When  these  three  heavenly  bodies 
are  in  the  same  relative  position  to  each  other  a 
cycle  has  been  measured  off. 

Thus  there  is  absolutely  no  chance  in  the  matter 
of  the  measure  of  time.  The  periods  are  measured 
with  infinite  precision  by  the  clock  of  the  universe, 
the  solar  system.  As  duration  continues,  the  sun 
and  the  moon  mark  it  off  into  periods  so  unvarying 
that  astronomers  may  determine  the  date  of  eclipses 
to  the  second,  at  any  time  in  the  past  or  future. 
The  sun  and  the  moon  rule  time  and  determine  its 
periods  absolutely.  When  God  made  the  two  great 
lights  he  said  that  the  sun  was  "to  rule"  the  day 
and  the  moon  was  "to  rule"  the  night.  They  were 
to  be  "for  signs,  and  for  seasons,"  also. 

The     system    of     times     and 
Solar  and  Lunar  i    •      .^i       o     •   ^ 

seasons  used   m  the   Scripture  is 

identical  with  those  in  the  volume 

of    nature,    for    these    are    all    under    the    divinely 

342 


THE    TIMES    AND    THE    SEASONS 

established  solar  and  lunar  dominion.  Not  only- 
are  periods  of  time  marked  off  by  these  heavenly 
bodies,  but  they  dominate  all  of  the  conditions  of 
the  physical  universe  that  make  life  and  the  develop- 
ment of  life  possible.  The  sun,  through  the  law 
of  attraction,  holds  the  earth  in  its  orbit  so  that 
these  periods  of  time  can  not  change.  The  natural 
phenomena  may  all  be  traced  in  their  origin  to  the 
dominion  of  the  sun  and  the  moon.  Evaporation 
and  condensation,  and  consequent  rain,  snow,  dew 
and  frost,  are  controlled  by  the  sun.  Heat  and 
cold,  electric  and  chemical  changes  are  due  to  the 
influence  of  the  sun.  The  phenomenon  of  the 
tides  is  witnessed  in  the  perfect  control  of  the 
queen  of  the  night.  In  fact,  all  of  those  changes 
which  are  necessary  to  the  development  of  all  forms 
of  life  are  directly  traceable  to  the  sun  and  moon. 
Not  only  do  these  bodies  dominate  the  changes 
in  nature,  but  their  influence  reaches  even  into  the 
domain  of  life  itself.  The  relative  position  of  the 
earth  to  the  sun  determines  the  various  zones  on  the 
earth,  and  the  consequent  temperature  and  physical 
conditions  of  each  zone,  and  no  life  can  exist  in 
any  particular  zone  that  is  not  suited  by  nature  to 
development  under  the  determined  conditions.  Thus 
we  find  in  the  frigid  zone  only  those  forms  of  life 
that  are  adapted  to  its  physical  conditions.  We 
find  that  in  different  seasons  there  is  a  variation 
in  the  development  of  life.  During  the  winter, 
development  of  vegetable  life  is  impossible,  but 
when  spring  comes,  with  its  balmy  winds  and  with 
its    increasing    heat    from    the    sun,    life    begins    to 

343 


THE    REVELATION    OF    JESUS    CHRIST 

manifest  itself  increasingly  until  the  sun  begins  to 
recede,  when  the  ripening  period  begins.  Human 
activities  are  determined  by  the  same  dominant 
force.  Our  activities,  as  a  rule,  assume  a  different 
form  with  the  changing  seasons.  It  has  been 
noticed  that  even  certain  diseases  are  prevalent  at 
one  season  and  not  at  another. 

Even  life  itself  is  under  the  subtle  spell  of  these 
mighty  rulers  of  the  physical  universe.  The  sun 
and  the  moon  fix  absolutely  the  periods  into  which 
time  is  divided.  The  development  of  all  physical 
life  is  made  in  successive  stages  that  correspond 
exactly  to  the  dominion  of  the  sun  and  moon.  In 
other  words,  the  same  periods  into  which  time  is 
divided  by  the  sun  and  the  moon,  in  their  relation 
to  the  earth,  are  the  periods  that  constitute  different 
stages  in  the  existence  of  all  life.  The  primary 
period  of  time  is  the  day,  the  hours,  minutes  and 
seconds  being  arbitrary  divisions  established  by  man. 
The  next  larger  period  of  time  is  the  week,  made 
up  of  seven  days.  It  also  corresponds  to  one  phase 
of  the  moon  in  its  revolution  around  the  earth.  This 
seven-day  period  really  becomes  the  primary  unit 
of  all  time  measurement,  because  it  is  determined 
by  both  the  sun  and  the  moon. 

The  development  of  all  physi- 

DuratioR  of  Life  i  i-r     •  ^   j  •   ^  ^-r 

cal  life  IS  separated  into  septiiorm 

periods,  usually  of  seven  days  each,  but  sometimes 

of  seven  half-days   each.     The   ova  of   insects   are 

hatched  in  periods  varying  in  length.     The  shortest 

period   is   seven   half-days,    as   in   the   bee   and    the 

wafep.     Some  are  hatched  in  just  one  week,  while 

344 


THE    TIMES    AND    THE    SEASONS 

others  are  hatched  in  from  two  to  six  weeks.  In 
every  case,  however,  the  period  of  incubation  is 
septiform.  The  egg  of  a  chicken  hatches  in  twenty- 
one  days — three  weeks  of  seven  days  each.  The 
egg  of  a  turkey  or  a  goose  hatches  in  four  weeks 
of  seven  days  each.  The  same  septiform  law 
governs  the  processes  of  utero-gestation  in  mammals 
and  in  mankind.  In  the  human  family  it  is  forty 
weeks  of  seven  days  each  from  conception  to  birth. 
The  menstrual  phenomenon  also  recurs  according 
to  the  same  law  in  four  weeks  of  seven  days  each. 
This  same  septiform  law  determines  the  various 
periods  of  human  life.  Here  we  find  seven-year 
periods  instead  of  seven-day  periods.  In  each  of 
these  periods  there  is  found  a  noticeable  change  in 
our  intellectual  and  physical  conditions  from  that 
which  was  seen  in  the  preceding  one.  Even  the 
very  diseases  which  rage  in  the  human  bodies  are 
controlled  by  this  septiform  law.  Fevers  have  their 
crises  on  the  seventh  day  and  on  the  fourteenth  day. 
The  phenomena  of  nature  are 
The  Septiform  controlled  by  this  septiform  law, 
aw  in     e  ^^  illustrated  by  the  circumstances 

crip    re  already  referred  to.     If  we   find 

the  same  principle  in  the  Bible,  we  will  know  that 
its  author  is  identical  with  the  Creator  of  the 
universe.  It  will  also  establish  a  further  fact. 
There  is  not  the  element  of  speculation  in  the  pre- 
diction of  the  astronomer  that  an  eclipse  of  the 
sun  or  the  moon  will  occur  upon  a  specific  date,  even 
a  thousand  years  in  the  future.  The  eclipse  will 
occur  exactly  at  the  moment  set,  because  the  move- 

345 


THE    REVELATION    OF    JESUS    CHRIST 

merits  of  the  heavenly  bodies  are  established.  They 
are  beyond  and  above  the  uncertainties  of  human 
life.  The  determination  of  the  exact  date  of  an 
eclipse,  a  thousand  years  in  the  future,  is  a  matter 
of  mathematical  calculation,  and  not  of  speculation. 
Therefore,  if  the  same  law  that  controls  in  the 
volume  of  nature,  rules  in  the  Scripture,  the  student 
of  the  Scripture  will  be  able  to  predict  the  occur- 
rence of  future  events  in  the  movements  of  nations 
with  as  much  accuracy  as  an  astronomer  does  an 
eclipse  in  the  course  of  the  movements  of  the 
heavenly  bodies.  The  astronomer,  owing  to  human 
liability  to  make  mistakes,  may  err  in  his  calculation 
and  the  eclipse  may  not  occur  upon  the  very  second 
which  he  had  published,  but  this  fact  does  not 
bring  discredit  upon  the  laws  which  control  the 
motions  of  the  heavenly  bodies,  nor  does  it  invahdate 
the  event  itself.  The  eclipse  will  certainly  occur 
at  its  divinely  appointed  time,  even  though  the 
astronomer  made  a  slight  mistake  of  a  few  seconds 
or  minutes  as  to  the  exact  m.oment  of  its  beginning. 
It  is  true  that  men  have  made  grievous  errors 
in  their  prediction  of  future  events  in  the  move- 
ments of  the  nations,  but  this  is  due  to  the  fact  that 
the  divine  law  which  controls  in  these  matters  has 
not  been  the  subject  of  the  same  careful  elucidation 
as  has  the  law  of  the  movements  of  the  heavenly 
bodies.  These  mistakes,  however,  do  not  affect  in 
any  particular  the  occurrence  of  the  predicted  events. 
Christ  came  to  the  world  as  a  Saviour  in  "the  ful- 
ness of  time."  He  will  appear  on  earth  again  at 
his'  appointed  time,  no  matter  how  many  mistakes 

346 


THE    TIMES    AND    THE    SEASONS 

men  may  have  made  in  regard  to  the  date.  Every- 
thing which  the  prophets  have  spoken  will  be  ful- 
filled exactly  on  time.  When  the  "fulness  of  the 
Gentiles"  that  Paul  referred  to  is  complete,  their 
dominion  will  wane  and  the  blessing  of  God  return 
to  the  Jew. 

It  is  just  as  vital  to  the  spiritual  well-being  that 
we  be  able  to  connect  divine  events  together  as  they 
are  related  to  each  other  in  point  of  time,  as  to 
connect  historical  events  together  in  relation  to  the 
time  in  which  they  occurred.  The  notion  that  the 
progress  of  divine  events  is  of  no  particular 
importance  in  the  regulation  of  our  spiritual  lives, 
as  generally  presented  by  modern  religious  teachers, 
is  a  damnable  heresy,  contravening  the  teaching  of 
Christ  and  the  apostles,  as  well  as  contradicting  the 
laws  of  nature  itself.  As  we  notice  the  sun  go  down 
in  the  west  and  see  the  signs  of  approaching  night, 
our  activities  are  affected.  We  cease  our  labors 
for  the  day,  and,  if  on  the  farm,  begin  to.  care  for 
the  stock  and  perform  other  duties  in  view  of 
coming  darkness.  The  United  States  Weather 
Bureau  issues  a  warning  that  a  storm  is  developing 
in  the  Caribbean  Sea  and  will  sweep  across  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico  in  three  days.  Who  would  dare 
say  that  such  a  warning  is  not  of  vital  importance 
to  every  ship-owner  who  goes  down  to  sea,  and  that 
it  would  not  affect  their  actions?  Every  captain 
begins  to  make  such  preparations  as  are  necessary 
to  protect  his  ship,  his  passengers  and  his  cargo 
•  from  the  fury  of  the  storm.  If  he  did  not,  the 
world  would  call  him  a  fool  and  a  criminal. 

347 


THE    REVELATION    OF    JESUS    CHRIST 

Then,  who  would  dare  say  that  the  warning  of 
the  mighty  storm  of  God's  wrath  sweeping  over 
the  world  is  not  of  vital  importance  to  the  child 
of  God?  Knowing  the  time  of  its  approach  is  near, 
he  could  make  such  preparations  as  are  necessary 
to  protect  himself  from  its  fury.  If  he  did  not 
know  the  time,  the  preparation  would  not  be  made. 
This  is  nothing  but  common  sense. 

This  same  septiform  law  controls  divine  events 
as  well  as  the  things  we  have  already  mentioned. 
This  is  abundantly  illustrated  in  the  Scripture.  The 
very  first  chapter  of  Genesis  is  the  history  of  a 
creation  week  of  seven  periods  called  days:  six 
days  of  divine  activity  and  one  day  of  divine  rest. 
This  same  division  is  referred  to  in  the  account  of 
the  deluge,  and  was  written  on  the  tables  of  stone 
at  Sinai.  "Six  days  shalt  thou  labor,  and  do  all 
thy  work;  but  the  seventh  day  is  a  sabbath  unto 
Jehovah  thy  God"  (Ex.  20:9).  The  Mosaic  system 
was  typical  of  heavenly  realities,  so  the  system  of 
times  inaugurated  at  that  time  has  a  special  signifi- 
cance. 

Under  this  system  the  seven-day  period  is  the 
unit  or  standard  of  time  measurement.  The  next 
larger  period  consists  of  seven  of  these  weeks.  It 
is,  therefore,  a  week  of  weeks,  beginning  with  the 
Passover  and  continuing  to  Pentecost  (Lev.  23). 
The  next  week  in  the  ascending  scale  is  the  week 
of  months,  consisting  of  seven  months  (Lev.  23). 
During  this  seventh  month  the  most  important  of 
Jewish  religious  exercises  were  to  be  conducted. 
The  next  notable  week  consists  of  seven  years.     It 

348 


THE    TIMES    AND    THE    SEASONS 

had  special  reference  to  the  land  in  which  they 
should  dwell.  The  record  of  its  enactment  is  found 
in  Leviticus  25.  Six  years  should  the  land  be 
cultivated  and  the  harvest  gathered,  but  the  seventh 
year  it  was  to  lie  idle.  This  seventh  year  is  called 
a  sabbath.  Then  the  seventh  day  of  sabbatic  rest 
for  the  individual  stood  for  the  seventh  year  of 
sabbatic  rest  as  applied  to  the  land:  a  day  for  a 
year. 

In  the  same  connection  another,  and  a  larger, 
week  is  established.  It  consists  of  forty-nine  years, 
or  seven  times  seven  years  (Lev.  25:8).  It  was  a 
week  of  weeks  of  years.  The  fiftieth  year  of  this 
period  was  a  great  jubilee  sabbath;  thus,  the  seventh - 
day  sabbatic  rest  of  the  individual  represented  the 
jubilee  sabbatic  rest  of  a  nation  in  the  fiftieth  year. 
Thus,  the  ordinary  day  is  made  to  represent  a  year 
when  it  applies  to  a  country  or  when  it  applies  to 
the  national  life.  This  jubilee  sabbatic  year  was 
one  of  restoration  and  readjustment  of  social  and 
commercial  relations. 

We  find  still  another  larger  week  mentioned  in 
the  prophets.  Jeremiah  mentions  the  seventy  years 
of  Jewish  exile.  This  is  a  week  of  decades.  This 
week  is  also  the  duration  of  man's  appointed  time. 
"The  days  of  our  years  are  threescore  and  ten." 
This  week,  as  it  referred  to  the  Jews,  was  one  of 
exile  and  bondage  to  the  Babylonian  world  empire, 
and,  as  it  refers  to  man,  is  one  of  bondage  to  the 
prince  of  this  world  in  sin  and  death.  We  again 
find  a  still  larger  period  of  time  mentioned  by 
Daniel.     "Seventy  weeks  are  determined  upon  thy 

349 


THE    REVELATION    OF    JESUS    CHRIST 

people."  This  was  a  week  of  weeks  of  decades,  or 
seven  times  seventy  years.  The  length  of  this  period 
had  already  been  determined  and  symbolically  made 
known  in  the  establishment  of  the  week  of  years. 
This  period  of  which  Daniel  spoke  concerned  the 
people  as  a  nation,  and  therefore  a  day  stood  for 
a  year. 

There  is  also  the  great  dispensational  week  called 
"seven  times"  in  Lev.  26:28  and  in  Dan.  4:23.  It 
had  to  do  with  both  the  Jews  and  the  Gentiles.  For 
the  Jews  it  meant  a  period  of  chastisement,  while 
for  the  Gentiles  it  would  represent  a  corresponding 
period  of  dominion  and  power.  The  periods  assigned 
to  the  dominion  of  the  "Httle  horn"  of  Daniel  7, 
and  the  dragon,  the  beast  and  Babylon  in  Revelation, 
are  each  a  half  of  this  dispensational  week  of 
''seven  times."  This  "little  horn"  had  dominion 
given  unto  him  "until  a  time  and  times  and  a  half," 
or  which  is  just  the  same  as  three  and  a  half  times, 
or  half  of  "seven  times."  In  the  twelfth  chapter 
of  Revelation  we  have  the  church  described  as  being 
in  the  wilderness  "1,260  days,"  and  also  the  same 
period  of  time  mentioned  as  "a  time  and  times  and 
a  half."  Therefore,  half  of  the  dispensational  week 
is  1,260  prophetic  days,  and  the  full  week  would 
be  2,520  prophetic  days,  whatever  they  may  signify. 
Thus,  this  dispensational  week  that  concerns  both 
the  Jews  and  the  Gentiles  in  their  relations  with 
each  other,  consists  of  seven  periods  of  360  prophetic 
days  each.  This  same  septiform  division  is  prom- 
inent throughout  Revelation.  There  are  seven 
candlesticks,    seven    churches,     seven     seals,     seven 

350 


THE    TIMES    AND    THE    SEASONS 

trumpets,  seven  thunders  and  seven  bowls  of  wrath. 
The  same  divine  seal  is  stamped  on  the  Scriptures 
that  we  find  in  the  physical  universe.  The  times 
and  the  seasons  in  the  Scriptures  are  an  orderly 
procession  of  periods  divinely  established.  Their 
duration  is  as  fixed  and  as  certain  as  the  days,  the 
years  or  the  cycles  measured  off  by  the  sun  and  the 
moon.  Paul  says  that  God  hath  "determined  the 
appointed  seasons"  of  the  nations  and  their  bounds 
(Acts   17:26),  and  man  can  not  change  them. 

If  the  prophets  have  revealed 
Meaning  of  the        ^^^  .^.^^^  ^^^  ^^^  seasons,"  they 

^"^^^  belong  unto   us  and  they  can  be 

known  as  certainly  as  the  motions  of  the  heavenly 
bodies.  "The  secret  things  belong  unto  Jehovah 
our  God;  but  the  things  that  are  revealed  belong 
unto  us  and  to  our  children  for  ever"  (Deut.  29: 
29).  If  God  has  revealed  the  time  of  the  occur- 
rence of  any  event  that  belongs  to  us  and  is  for 
our  instruction,  God  has  given  an  unchangeable  law 
to  test  all  prophetic  statements  by.  "When  a 
prophet  speaketh  in  the  name  of  Jehovah,  if  the 
thing  follow  not,  nor  come  to  pass,  that  is  the 
thing  which  Jehovah  hath  not  spoken"  (Deut. 
18:22). 

We  will  use  this  rule  and  apply  it  to  a  specific 
prophecy  of  Daniel.  "Know  therefore  and  discern, 
that  from  the  going  forth  of  the  commandment  to 
restore  and  to  build  Jerusalem  unto  the  anointed 
one,  the  prince,  shall  be  seven  weeks,  and  three- 
score and  two  weeks"  (Dan.  9:25).  There  a 
definite  period  of  time  is  given — sixty-nine   weeks. 

351 


THE    REVELATION    OF    JESUS    CHRIST 

The  date  of  the  beginning  of  this  period  is  given, 
as  well  as  the  end  of  the  period.  We  can,  then, 
be  absolutely  certain  whether  the  prophet  meant 
sixty-nine  weeks  of  seven  days  each,  or  whether 
they  were  days  on  a  larger  scale.  History  estab- 
Hshes  the  date  of  the  decree  "to  restore  and  build 
Jerusalem"  as  457  B.  C.  Jesus  appeared  on  the 
banks  of  the  Jordan  to  be  baptized  of  John  and  to 
be  "anointed"  with  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  late  fall 
of  the  year  26  A.  D.  The  time  that  had  elapsed 
since  457  B.  C.  was  483  years.  Then,  sixty-nine 
weeks  equals  483  years.  A  simple  calculation,  then, 
shows  that  a  prophetic  week  is  seven  years,  and 
therefore  one  prophetic  day  is  one  year.  This  was 
what  was  symbolized  when  the  week  of  years  was 
established  (Lev.  25:1-7).  What  had  been  but 
dimly  revealed  in  the  Old  Testament  is  now  made 
clear  in   its   fulfillment   in   Christ. 

Some  might  question  whether  this  same  scale 
was  used  by  the  seer  of  Patmos.  This  is  a  point 
that  may  be  definitely  settled  so  that  there  can  be 
no  mistake.  The  duration  of  the  Hfe  history  of  the 
beast  as  a  blasphemous  power  is  given  as  "forty- 
two  months,"  or  the  same  as  L260  prophetic  days. 
Time  enough  has  now  elapsed  to  determine  the 
absolute  meaning  of  that  expression.  Naturally, 
the  appearance  of  a  mighty  apostasy  like  the  Papacy 
would  not  occur  in  one  year,  but  such  an  institution 
would  require  decades  and  centuries  in  the  process 
of  its  development  before  it  could  be  completely 
established.  Likewise,  its  end  would  not  come  in 
a   particular    year.      It   would    naturally    decline    in 

352 


THE   TIMES    AND    THE    SEASONS 

successive  stages  corresponding  to  those  of  its 
development.  Then,  we  have  found  a  simple  rule 
to  g^ide  us  in  determining  whether  the  1,260 
prophetic  days  mean  1,260  years  or  not. 

From  the  primary  beginning  of  the  Papacy  to 
the  first  completed  stage  of  its  decline  would  be  the 
.period  of  its  appointed  life  history,  or  1,260  pro- 
phetic days.  From  each  succeeding  stage  in  its 
development  to  the  corresponding  stage  of  its 
decline  would  be  1,260  days,  and  from  the  date  of 
its  complete  development  as  the  Papal  power  until 
its  complete  destruction  would  be  also  1,260  pro- 
phetic days. 

The  primary  beginning  of  the  Papacy  may  be 
traced  to  the  Nicean  Council,  325  A.  D.  While 
the  spirit  of  apostasy  was  at  work  in  Paulas  day,  it 
was  not  manifest  in  a  visible,  organized  form  until 
the  above-mentioned  council.  There  we  find,  for 
the  first  time,  the  wedlock  of  the  church  and  state. 
The  church  has  forsaken  her  true  Lord  and  is  now 
associating  with  the  state.  The  bishops  assemble 
at  the  call  of  Constantine.  The  first  creed  is  pro- 
mulgated and  the  church  is  never  the  same  after 
that.  Then,  if  1,260  prophetic  days  are  equal  to 
1,260  years,  we  will  find  that  1585  A.  D.  will  be 
connected  in  some  way  with  the  first  completed 
stage  of  Papal  decline.  Gregory  XIII.  died  in 
1585  A.  D.  That  in  itself  would  not  be  of  especial 
significance  but  for  the  facts  connected  with  his 
life,  as  the  "mouth  of  the  little  horn."  According 
to  the  prophecy  of  Daniel,  "he  would  think  to 
change  laws,  and  the  times  and  seasons  would  be 

23  353 


THE    REVELATION    OF   JESUS    CHRIST 

given  into  his  hand."  The  council  at  Nice  had 
legislated  in  regard  to  the  time  when  Easter  was 
to  be  observed.  Gregory  XIII.  arbitrarily  decreed 
that  ten  days  be  removed  from  the  calendar  in  order 
to  cure  an  error  of  nine  days  and  a  half  that  had 
accrued  since  325  A.  D.  He  is  therefore  the  one 
who  changed  "the  times  and  the  law,"  and  represents 
the  fullest  and  complete  fulfillment  of  the  work  of 
the  "little  horn."  The  end  of  his  reign  would 
mark  the  completion  of  the  first  stage  of  the 
decline  of  the  Papacy,  for  it  was  during  his  reign 
that  the  Reformation  was  finally  established  by  the 
"edict  of  pacification  with  the  Protestants." 

Another  important  date  in  the  development  of 
the  Papacy  is  533  A.  D.  This  was  the  year  that 
Justinian  decreed  that  the  bishop  of  Rome  was  the 
"head  of  all  the  Holy  Churches."  This  gave  the 
apostasy  a  tremendous  impetus.  Then,  in  1,260 
years  there  ought  to  be  another  notable  stage  in  the 
decline  of  the  Papacy.  History  shows  what  occurred. 
The  "Reign  of  Terror,"  otherwise  known  as  the 
French  Revolution,  began,  which  resulted  in  the 
abolishment  of  religion  and  in  taking  the  Pope  a 
prisoner  to  France.  Thus  we  have  seen  that  the 
1,260  prophetic  days  that  mark  the  duration  of  the 
beast  are  1,260  years,  or  a  day  for  a  year. 

The  regular  elapse  of  1,260  years  between 
corresponding  stages  in  the  rise  and  decline  of  the 
Papacy  determines  the  rule  that  a  day  stands  for 
a  year.  This  rule  may  be  illustrated  in  the  follow- 
ing manner,  and  the  illustration  will  also  show  when 
the  last  great  catastrophe  will  overtake  the  Papacy: 

354 


THE    TIMES    AND    THE    SEASONS 


Council  of  Nice.        1,260  years.  ,.     Death  of  Gregory  XIII. 
325  A.  D.  1586  A.  D. 

Justinian's  Decree.        1.260  years.        Reign  of  Terror. 
633  A.  D.  1793  A.  D. 

Latin  Worsliip.        1,260  years.        Further  Decline. 
663  A.  D.  1923  A.  D. 

Papacy  Complete.        1,260  years.        Death-stroke. 
666  A.  D.  1926  A.  D. 

Having  determined  that  Daniel 
and  John  use  a  day  to  represent 
a  year,  we  now  turn  to  the  prophecies  whose  fulfill- 
ment is  indicated  as  taking  place  in  this  generation. 
The  first  of  these  is  the  dispensation  week  of  "seven 
times" — 2,520  years.  In  the  second  chapter  of 
Daniel  we  have  a  symbolic  description  of  the  future 
history  of  earthly  governments  under  the  figure  of 
a  great  image  composed  of  gold,  silver,  brass,  iron 
and  clay.  Daniel  interprets  the  vision  so  there  is 
no  uncertainty  as  to  its  meaning.  In  the  fourth 
chapter  we  have  another  vision,  a  mate  to  the  vision 
of  the  image.  It  therefore  represents  the  history 
of  the  same  earthly  governments  during  the  same 
period.  One  of  the  details  of  this  vision  is  the 
statement  that  Nebuchadnezzar,  who  in  his  person 
represented  the  four  great  world  kingdoms,  symbol- 
ized as  one  tree,  would  have  his  heart  changed 
from  a  man's  and  have  a  beast's  heart  given.  This 
indicated  the  character  of  these  earthly  governments 
which  he  as  an  individual  represented.  They  would 
be  cruel  and  beastly  for  2,520  years.  It  was  also 
said  that  at  the  end  of  the  seven  times  he  would 
acknowledge  that  the  "Most  High  ruleth  in  the 
kingdom  of  men" ;  in  other  words,  that  at  the  end 
of   2,520   years    these    earthly    governments    would 

24  355 


THE    REVELATION    OF    JESUS    CHRIST 

come  to  know  that  God  was  the  ruler  and  that 
they  would  yield  to  his  authority.  This  2,520  years 
is  the  period  of  existence,  therefore,  of  the  Gentile 
governments.  This  period  was  to  begin  with 
Nebuchadnezzar,  for  he  represented  them.  He  was 
the  head  of  gold  in  the  first  vision,  and  his  king- 
dom is  said  to  be  the  first  kingdom.  The  other 
empires  arose  afterward.  The  very  madness  was 
visited  upon  Nebuchadnezzar  in  parable,  on  a 
smaller  scale.  So,  then,  this  dispensational  week 
must  have  its  beginning  in  the  reign  of  that 
monarch. 

Another  reference  to  this  "seven  times"  is  found 
in  Lev.  26 :  14-33.  Here  the  Jews  are  warned  that 
they  would  be  punished  "seven  times"  for  their 
sins.  The  punishment  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that 
their  land  would  be  a  desolation,  that  their  enemies 
would  dwell  in  the  land,  and  that  they  would  be 
scattered  among  the  nations.  This  week  is  there- 
fore connected  with  both  Nebuchadnezzar,  as  the 
representative  of  the  Gentile  governments,  and  the 
Jews.  History  furnishes  the  record.  Nebuchad- 
nezzar captured  Jerusalem  in  606  B.  C.  A  few  of 
the  prominent  men  were  carried  away  at  this  time. 
Jehoiakim  was  left  to  reign  as  a  vassal  of  Babylon. 
He  rebelled  after  three  and  a  half  years  and 
attempted  to  free  the  Jewish  people.  Nebuchad- 
nezzar came  again,  and  in  599  B.  C.  he  carried  the 
people  away  captive  and  despoiled  the  temple  of  its 
golden  vessels.  Again,  eleven  years  afterward, 
Jerusalem  was  besieged,  and  the  desolation  of  the 
land  was  complete  in  586  B.  C.     From  those  days 

356 


THE    TIMES    AND    THE    SEASONS 

until  the  present,  the  Jews  have  been  scattered 
among  all  nations, .  as  God  had  said.  The  primary 
beginning  of  this  great  week  was  606  B.  C,  when 
Jerusalem  was  captured  and  the  Jewish  king  made 
a  vassal.  The  development  of  the  dispensational 
week  may  be  illustrated  in  the   following  manner: 

Capture  of  Beginning  of  End  of 

Jerusalem. 2,620  years. Gentile  Nations. 

606  B.  C.  1914  A.  D. 

Captivity  of  World-wide  War  Among 

the  Jews. 2,620  years. the  Nations. 

699  B.  C.  1921717 D^ 

Desolation  of  Jews  Downfall  of  the  Qen- 

Complete 2,520  years. tile  Nations. 

586  B.  0.  1984  A.  D. 

In     the     eighth     chapter     of 

Daniel    we    have    another    "little 
"Little  Horn"  ,         „       i-i,       ,        j        ^      r 

horn     which  developed  out  of  a 

"he-goat"  that  is  identified  as  the  Grecian  Empire 

(Dan.  8:21).     This  desolating  horn  carried  on  his 

depredations  principally  against  the  sanctuary.     He 

"waxed    exceeding    great,    toward    the    south,    and 

toward  the  east,  and  toward  the  glorious  land.    And 

it  waxed  great,   even   to   the   host  of  heaven :   and 

some  of  the  host  and  of  the  stars  it  cast  down  to 

the    ground,    and    trampled    upon    them.      Yea,    it 

magnified  itself,  even  to  the  prince  of  the  host;  and 

it  took  away  from  him  the  continual  burnt-offering, 

and   the   place   of   the   sanctuary   was   cast   down" 

(Dan.  8:9-11). 

The   Grecian   Empire   was   continually   bringing 

desolation   to  the   sanctuary  of   the  Jews.     In   the 

wars  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes,   from   175   B.   C.   to 

168  B.  C.,  the  temple  was  plundered  and  dedicated 

857 


THE    REVELATION    OF   JESUS    CHRIST 

to  Jupiter  Olympus.  The  duration  of  this  desolating 
power  would  be  twenty-three  hundred  "evenings 
and  mornings,"  an  expression  conveying  the  idea 
of  days,  as  in  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis.  The 
Grecian  Empire  became  a  world  power  under  Alex- 
ander the  Great  in  328  B.  C.  Twenty-three  hundred 
years  from  this  date  is  1972  A.  D.  The  desolations 
wrought  by  this  "little  horn"  were  to  come  to  pass 
in  the  "latter  part  of  the  kingdom"  (v.  23).  This 
horn  understands  "dark  sentences."  He  deals  in 
sayings  that  are  dark  and  mysterious.  The  tenth, 
eleventh  and  twelfth  chapters  have  to  do  with 
Daniel's  desire  to  understand  the  vision  of  the 
"little  horn"  and  the  angelic  interpretation.  Begin- 
ning with  Dan.  11:21,  we  find  the  angel  giving 
fuller  details  concerning  this  "little  horn,"  so  that 
his  fulfillment  is  found  in  the  overthrow  of  Jeru- 
salem by  the  Mohammedans  in  637  A.  D.  This 
was  the  time  that  the  "abomination  of  desolation," 
referred  to  by  Jesus,  was  set  up  in  Jerusalem.  From 
that  time  the  holy  mountain  has  been  in  Moham- 
medan hands,  and  the  Mosque  of  Omar  stands  on 
the  site  of  the  temple  of  God.  The  important  events 
of  his  history  are  given  until  the.  end,  when  the 
great  tribulation  and  the  first  resurrection  occur 
(Dan.   12:1,  2). 

The  time  element  is  also  ment^^^ed  in  the  twelfth 
chapter.  "And  from  the  time  that  the  continual 
burnt-offering  shall  be  taken  away,  and  the  abom- 
ination that  maketh  desolate  set  up,  there  shall  be 
a  thousand  two  hundred  and  ninety  days.  Blessed 
is  he  that  waiteth,  and  cometh  to  the  thousand  three 

858 


THE  TIMES  AND  THE  SEASONS 

hundred  and  five  and  thirty  days"  (Dan.  12:  11,  12). 
Two  periods  of  different  lengths  are  here  given: 
one  of  1,290  years  and  one  of  1,335  years.  They 
begin  with  the  setting  up  of  the  Mohammedan 
abomination,  637  A.  D.  The  first  period  will  end 
with  the  downfall  of  Turkey  in  1927  A.  D.  The 
second  will  end  in  1972  A.  D.  The  intervening 
forty-five  years  will  be  occupied  with  the  return 
and  conversion  of  the  Jews,  the  complete  overthrow 
of  all  forms  of  apostasy,  and  the  yielding  of  all 
earthly  government  to  the  Lamb  of  God  and  the 
blessed  Prince  and  only  Potentate.  These  periods 
may  be  illustrated  in  the  following  manner : 

Mohammedan  Death-stroke 

Desolation. 1,290  years. to  Turkey. 

637  A.  D.  1927  A.  D. 

Mohammedan  Sanctuary  Completely 

Desolation. 1,335  years. Cleansed. 

6C7  A.  D.  1972  A.  D. 

What  a  glorious  day  that  will  be,  when  all  of 
these  forces  of  evil  are  overthrown  and  the  Lord 
himself  shall  suddenly  come  to  his  temple.  The 
government  then  "shall  be  upon  his  shoulders :  and 
his  name  shall  be  called  Wonderful,  Counsellor, 
Mighty  God,  Everlasting  Father,  Prince  of  Peace. 
Of  the  increase  of  his  government  and  of  peace 
there  shall  be  no  end,  upon  the  throne  of  David, 
and  upon  his  kingdom,  to  establish  it,  and  to 
uphold  it  with  justice  and  with  righteousness  from 
henceforth  even  for  ever.  The  zeal  of  Jehovah  of 
hosts  will  perform  this"  (Isa.  9:6,  7). 

We  are  privileged  to  live  in  a  grand  and  awful 
time.      The   long- foretold   events    are    hastening   to 

859 


THE    REVELATION    OF   JESUS    CHRIST 

their  realization  and  fulfillment.  The  child  is  now 
born  whose  span  of  life  will  reach  to  1972  A.  D. 
Scoflfers  will  mock  at  the  plain  statements  of  God's 
word  and  will  continue  to  their  destruction.  The 
nations  will  continue  in  their  struggle  until  they 
crumble  beneath  the  weight  of  debt  and  die  because 
their  citizens  are  slaughtered,  but  the  wise,  they 
who  believe  in  Christ  and  his  promises,  will  trim 
their  lamps  and  fill  them  with  oil,  for  the  midnight 
cry  has  already  been  sounded:  "Behold,  the  bride- 
grpom  Cometh."  Jesus  said:  "When  these  things 
begin  to  come  to  pass,  look  up,  and  lift  up  your 
heads ;  because  your  redemption  draweth  nigh" 
(Luke  21:28). 

When  Noah  warned  his  contemporaries  of  the 
approaching  doom,  they  mocked,  and  were  all 
destroyed.  When  Jesus  came  to  the  Jews,  they 
"knew  not  the  day  of  their  visitation,"  and,  as  a 
consequence,  an  awful  destruction  was  visited  upon 
them  and  their  city.  The  same  will  be  true  at  this 
time.  Jesus  has  foretold  that  the  conditions  should 
be  the  same  as  they  were  in  the  days  of  Noah 
(Matt.  24:38,  39).  "But  ye,  brethren,  are  not  in 
darkness,  that  that  day  should  overtake  you  as  a 
thief:  for  ye  are  all  sons  of  light,  and  sons  of  the 
day:  we  are  not  of  the  night,  nor  of  darkness;  so 
then  let  us  not  sleep,  as  do  the  rest,  but  let  us 
watch  and  be  sober"  (1  Thess.  5:4-6).  May  this 
closing  Scripture  be  heeded  by  an  ever-increasing 
number,  until  Jesus  comes,  is  our  prayer. 


aoo 


THE  MORE   IMPORTANT  SYM- 
BOLS 

Meaning  of  a  few  of  the  more  important  symbols 
of  the  Apocalypse.  With  a  "Concordance,"  the 
student  may  easily  determine  for  himself  the 
Scriptural  usage  of  all  figurative  terms. 


SYMBOL 

Air.    Rev.  i6: 17. 


Altar  of  Burnt- 
offering. 
Rev.  6:9. 

Altar  of  Incense. 
Rev.  8:3;  11: 1. 


INTERPRETATION  PAGE 

The  medium  through  which  the  au- 
thority of  a  ruler  is  exercised, 
since  it  is  the  medium  through 
which  the  sun's  light  and  power 
are  transmitted  to  the  earth. 
Hence  all  law-enforcing  officers 
in  times  of  peace  or  armies  in 
times  of  war 282 

Being  the  place  where  the  slain 
sacrifice  is  ofifered,  it  is  indica- 
tive of  martyrdom.  Ex.  29 :  31- 
42   116 

Being  before  the  door  of  the  Most 
Holy  Place,  it  is  symbolical  of 
the  means  whereby  the  soul 
comes  into  intimate  spiritual  re- 
lationship with  God.  Hence  it 
is  indicative  of  the  ordinances 
of  the  church  and  of  worship. 

Lev.  4:1-7;  Heb.  9:1-9 167 

861 


THE  MORE  IMPORTANT  SYMBOLS 


Ascension  of  the 

Witnesses. 

Rev.  II,  12. 

Babylon.   Rev.  17. 


Balaam,  Teaching 
of.    Rev.  2:  14. 

Balances. 
Rev.  6:5. 

Bear.     Rev.  13:  2. 

Beast. 

Beast,  Seven- 
headed  and  Ten- 
horned. 
Rev.  13:  I. 

Beast,  Two- 
horned. 
Rev.  13:  II. 


Beast,  Image  of. 

Rev.   13: 14-17. 

Beast,  Mark  of. 

Rev.  13:  16,  17. 

Birds.  Rev.  19: 17; 

Ezek.  39:  17. 


Indicative  of  the  exaltation  of  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments.  See 
"Witnesses."  Hence  a  revival 
of  Christianity  201 

The  Roman  Catholic  Church  in 
contrast  with  the  true  church  of 
Christ.  Rev.  17:  1-6;  Rev.  12 :  1.  298 

False  religious  teaching.  Num.  31 : 
16 71 

Indicates  scarcity  and  intolerable 
taxation.    Ezek.  4 :  16 109 

Medo-Persia.    Dan.  7:5 234 

Symbol  of  a  kingdom.  Dan.  7 :  17, 
23    228 

Professed  Christian  Roman  Em- 
pire from  324  A.  D.  to  476  A. 
D.,  since  the  dragon  gave  his 
power  to  the  beast.  Rev.  13  :  2. 
See  "Dragon"  227 

Western  division  of  the  Roman 
Empire  under  the  government 
of  barbarian  emperors  and  bish- 
ops of  the  Roman  Church  from 
476  A.  D.  to  666  A.  D.,  and 
while  the  Papal  government  was 
developing.    Rev.  13:14,  IS 241 

The  Papal  government  as  mani- 
fested by  the  Papacy 243 

Outward  indication  of  allegiance  to 
the  Papacy 246 

Organizations  of  men  having  forms 
of  self-government,  such  as 
political  parties,  labor-unions, 
etc.     Dan.  4:12;   Acts   10 :  12 ; 

Acts  1:34,  35 313 

862 


THE  MORE  IMPORTANT  SYMBOLS 


Blasphemy. 
Rev.  13:5. 

Blood.    Rev.  8:  8. 

Book,  Sealed. 
Rev.  5: 1. 

Book,  Unsealed. 


Book,    Little. 
Rev.  10 : 2. 


Bowl.    Rev.  16: 1. 

Candlesticks. 
Rev.  i:  12. 


Cast  Down. 

Rev.  12:  9. 

Crown.    Rev.  6 :  2. 

Cup.    Rev.  16: 19. 
Day.    Rev.  2:  10. 

Defiled  with 

Women. 

Rev.  14:4. 

Dragon. 

Rev.  12:  3. 


Earth.    Rev.  12:9. 


Laying  claim  to  divine  preroga- 
tives. Mark  14:  61-64;  John  10: 
33 233 

Indicative  of  sanguinary  warfare. 
1  Kings  2  :  5 ;  2  Kings  3  :  22,  23. .  104 

Indicates  that  its  contents  are  un- 
revealed 89 

Indicates  that  its  contents  are  re- 
vealed         90 

The  New  Testament  being  preached 
to  the  people  and  read  by  the 
people 176 

Indicative  of  divine  judgment 264 

Churches.  Rev.  1:20.  Hence  the 
complete  life  history  of  the  vis- 
ible church  through  seven  peri- 
ods   55,  63 

Defeated,  humiliated 217 

Symbol  of  the  kingly  office  and  au- 
thority     101 

Indicative  of  bitter  judgments 263 

A  day  stands  for  a  year.     Ezek. 

4:6 68 

See  "Fornication" 252 


The  Devil  incarnate  in  the  pagan 
Roman  Empire,  since  he  is  the 
antagonist  of  the  woman  and 
her  seed  at  the  time  of  John's 
vision.    Rev.  12:9 213,  230 

Territory  embraced  under  the  au- 
thority of  Rome 217 

363 


THE  MORE  IMPORTANT  SYMBOLS 


Earthquake. 
Rev.  6: 12. 


Eg3rpt.  Rev.  ii:8. 


Elders.    Rev.  4:4. 

Euphrates. 
Rev.  9:  14;  16: 12. 

Fire.    Rev.  8:5. 


Fornication. 
Rev.  17:  2. 

Hail.    Rev.  8:  7. 

Harlot. 
Rev.  17: 1. 

Harlots. 
Rev.  17:5. 


Heads.  Rev.  17:  3. 


Heaven. 
Rev.  4: 1. 

Heaven,  Fallen 

from. 
Rev.  12:9,  10. 


Disruption  of  political  government. 
It  indicates  the  overthrow  of 
one  form  of  government  and 
the  establishment  of  another...   125 

Place  where  chosen  people  of  God 
suffered  bondage,  hence  indi- 
cates the  treading  down  of  the 
church  under  the  Papal  domin- 
ion    200 

Heavenly  beings,  intimately  associ- 
ated with  the  throne  of  God...     84 

A  symbol  of  the  Turkish  people 
and  government 165 

Symbol  of  divine  judgment.  Gen- 
erally indicative  of  the  ravages 
of  war 140 

Apostasy  from  the  true  faith.  Isa. 
1:21  303 

An  instrument  of  destructive  judg- 
ments    140 

The  Roman  Catholic  Church 288 

Churches  which  have  come  out  of 
the  Roman  Church  and  still  re- 
tain some  of  her  apostate  char- 
acteristics    304 

Forms  of  government  or  dynasties. 
Generally  succeeding  each  other. 
Rev.  17 :  10 229 

Place  of  throne  and  rule,  hence  in- 
dicates the  place  where  power 
is  exercised 79,  129 

Indicates  loss  of  power  and  au- 
thority    218 

864 


THE  MORE  IMPORTANT  SYMBOLS 


Heaven,  War  in. 
Rev.  12:7. 

Horns,  Seven. 

Rev.  5:6. 

Horns  of  the 

Beast. 

Rev.  13: 1 ;  17:3' 

Horse,  White. 
Rev.  6:2. 


Horse,  Red. 

Rev.  6:  3. 
Horse,  Black. 

Rev.  6:5. 

Horse,  Pale. 

Rev.  6:8. 

Hour.   Rev.  18:17. 


Islands. 

Rev,  6: 14. 

Jerusalem,  New. 

Rev.  3: 12;  21:  2. 

Jews. 
Rev.  2:9;  3:9. 

Jezebel. 
Rev.  2 :  20. 


Indicates  a  spiritual  contest,  as  be- 
tween Christianity  and  pagan- 
ism    215 

Indicate  that  Christ  has  all  author- 
ity and  power 93 

Contemporary  divisions  of  the 
Roman  Empire,  each  being  in- 
dependent of  the  other.  Rev. 
17:12 229 

The  horse  is  a  symbol  of  war. 
Prov.  21 :  31.  The  color  of  the 
horse  indicates  the  nature  of  the 
war.  Hence  white,  which  indi- 
cates prosperity  and  victory, 
would  symbolize  a  successful 
war 98 

Indicative  of  civil  war 103 

Indicative  of  tribulation  as  a  re- 
sult of  civil  war 107 

Indicative  of  famine  and  pestilence 
in  connection  with  war Ill 

Small  space  of  time.    One-twelfth   ^ 
part  of  a  day,  hence  one  month. 
See  "Day" 68 

Provinces  or  territorial  divisions..   129 

The  glorified  church  of  Christ. 
Heb.  12:22,  23 334 

The  chosen  people  of  God,  and, 
hence,  spiritual  Israel.  True 
Christians 75 

The  idolatrous  wife  of  Ahab  and 
associated  with  him  in  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  Northern  king- 
dom, hence  becomes  a  type  of 
365 


THE  MORE  IMPORTANT  SYMBOLS 


Leopard. 

Rev.  13:  2. 

Lightning. 

Rev.  8:5. 

Lion.     Rev.  13:  2. 

Locusts. 

Rev.  9:  3-1 1. 

Man  Child. 

Rev.  12:  5. 

Month.  Rev.  11:  2. 
Moon,    Rev.  6;  12. 


Mountain. 
Rev.  6:  14. 

Outer  Court. 
Rev.  11:2. 


Reed.    Rev.  11:  i. 

Rivers. 
Rev.  16: 12. 

Scorpions. 
Rev.  9:5. 


the  Roman  Catholic  Church 
when  associated  with  the  tem- 
poral government  of  Rome 72 

Grecian  Empire.    Dan.  1  ;(> 234 

Indicative  of  a  political  disturbance 
taking  place 86 

Babylonian  kingdom.     Dan.  7:4...  234 

Mohammedan  armies  157 

Christ  raised  from  the  dead.  John 
16:21,  22;  Isa.  (^\1 211 

Thirty  years,  since  a  day  stands 
for  a  year 190 

Receives  its  light  from  the  sun, 
hence  becomes  the  symbol  of 
the  ruler  who  is  immediately  as- 
sociated with  the  chief  ruler.  In 
Rev.  12 :  1  it  symbolizes  the 
Mosaic  dispensation 126 

A  kingdom.  Compare  Dan.  2 :  35 
and  Dan.  2:44 129 

The  outer  court  contained  the  al- 
tar of  burnt-offerings  and  the 
laver  of  cleansing,  hence  its 
treading  down  signifies  that  the 
ordinances  of  the  church  are 
changed 189 

The  New  Testament  as  the  only 
rule  of  faith  and  practice 187 

Nations.  Armies  in  motion.  Isa. 
8:7 147 

Indicative    of    bitter   burdens    and 

experiences,     1  Kings  2  :  11 157 

866 


THE    MORE    IMPORTANT    SYMBOLS 


Sea.    Rev.  7:1. 


*  Sodom, 
Rev.  11:8. 

Souls  under  the 
Altar.     Rev.  6: 9. 

Stars.    Rev.  6: 13. 


Sun.    Rev.  6: 12. 


Sun,  Darkening 
of.    Rev.  6:  12. 

Sword.    Rev.  6:  4. 


Sword,  Two- 
edged 
Rev.  i:  16;  19: 15. 

Tails.    Rev.  9: 10. 

Temple  of  God. 
Rev.  11: 1. 


The  multitude  of  mankind.  We 
use  the  same  sort  of  a  figurative 
expression  in  "a  sea"  of  faces. 
See  Waters" 132 

City  of  wickedness,  and,  hence, 
same  as  Babylon  or  the  Roman 
Catholic   Church..... 299 

Martyrs.  See  "Altar  of  Burnt- 
offering"  116 

Conspicuous  men  In  places  of 
power  and  authority.  Gen.  37 : 
9,  10.  Hence,  in  Rev.  12 :  1,  the 
twelve  apostles.  Also  Rev.  1 : 
16,  stars  represent  the  ministry 
during  the  seven  periods  of  the 
church.  They  are  interpreted  as 
angels.  Rev.  1  :  20.  Hence  min- 
istering spirits.  Heb.  1 :  14. .  .59,  126 

Supreme  ruler.  Most  brilliant  po- 
litical or  religious  leader.  Gen. 
37 :  9,  10.  Hence  Christ  is  re- 
ferred to  as  the  Sun  of  right- 
eousness.   See  Rev.  12:1 126 

Loss  of  authority  by  a  supreme 
ruler 125 

An  instrument  of  divine  judgment, 
and  indicative  of  war.  Ezek. 
21:9,  10 104 

The  Bible.    Eph.  6:  17;  Heb.  4:  12.  320 


A  symbol  of  authority  among  the 
Turks 170 

The   visible   church   of   Christ.     1 

Cor.  3  :  16 188 

367 


-^^' 


THE    MORE    IMPORTANT    SYMBOLS 


Thunder. 

Rev.  6: 1. 

Thunders,  Seven. 

Rev.  lo:  3. 

Time,  Times  and 

Half  a  Time. 

Rev.  12: 14. 

Tree.    Rev.  7: 1. 

Trees,  Olive. 
Rev.  11:4. 


Trumpet. 
Rev.  1 :  10. 

Waters. 
Rev.  12: 15. 

Winds.    Rev.  7:  i. 

Woman. 

Rev.  12: 1. 

Zion.     Rev.  14:  i. 


Indicative  of  political  disturbance.    86 

Papal  anathemas  hurled  against  the 
Reformers   176 

Same  as  1,260  prophetic  days.  Rev. 
12:6.  Hence  1,260  years.  A 
time,  therefore,  is  one  prophetic 
year 184 

A  kingdom.    Dan.  4:20-22 132 

Spiritual  Israel  under  the  old  dis- 
pensation and  spiritual  Israel 
under  the  new  dispensation. 
Rom.  11 :  17-24.  See,  also,  Zech. 
4 :  3-14.  As  witnesses  the  olive- 
trees  indicate  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments.  John  5 :  39 ;  Acts 
1:8 194 

Signal  for  the  assembly  of  armies 
and  indicative  of  military  strug- 
gles.   Num.  10:9 55 

Peoples  and  nations.    Rev.  17:  IS..  222 

Destructive  agencies  such  as  ar- 
mies   132 

Spiritual  Israel.  The  true  church 
of  Christ 210 

The  kingdom  of  Christ,  otherwise 
the  church.    Heb.  12 :  22,  23. . . .  253 


868 


TOPICAL  INDEX 


TOPIC  PAGE     TOPIC 

Angel,  Strong 175 

Seventh 202 

Announcement  of  Woes.  152 

Armageddon 258,  282 

Armies  of  Heaven 308 

Author  of  Revelation 37 

Babylon,  The  Mystery  of 
Beast,  Mark  of 

Image  of 

Seven-headed  

Two-horned 

Bird  Feast  

Book,    Vision    of    the 

Sealed   

Bride,  Wife  of  the  Lamb. 

Candlesticks,  The  Vision. 

Mystery  Revealed 

Catastrophe,  The  Last. . . 
Creatures,  The  Living. . . 

Door  Open  in  Heaven. . . 
Dragon  and  the  Woman. 


Earth,  The  New. 
Elders,  The 


Frogs,  The  Three. 
Infidelity 


PAGE 

Heavens,  The  New 334 

Harlot,  The  Great 285 

Horn,  The  Grecian  Little.  357 

Judgment,  The  Last 332 

Letters,  Ephesus 64 

Smyrna  66 

289        Pergamum  70 

246        Thyatira   72 

243        Sardis 73 

227        Philadelphia  73 

241        Laodicea  76 

312    Life,  Duration  of 344 

89    Measured,  Things 188 

285    Measurement  of  the  Tem- 
ple    187 

53    Meaning  of  the  Times. . .  351 

57    Millennium 327 

255 

87    Place   39 

Plagues,  First 263 

81        Second 265 

207       Third 266 

Fourth 268 

334       Fifth 270 

84       Sixth  271 

Seventh 282 

276    Prophecy,    A    Neglected 

Theme H 

254       Scope  and  Purpose 17 

869 


TOPICAL    INDEX 


TOPIC  PAGE 

Value  of 12 

How  to  Understand. . .     22 

Reed,  The 187 

Reformation 253 

Restoration 191 

Resurrection,    The    First 

256,  322 

Return  of  the  Jews 325 

Revelation,  Author 37 

Place    39 

How  to  Study 40 

Structure 42 

Outline 44 

Inscription   47 

Salutation  and  Dedica- 
tion    51 

Satan  Loosed 330 

Seals 

First  Seal 98 

Second  Seal 103 

Third  Seal  107 

Fourth  Seal Ill 

Fifth  Seal 115 

Sixth  Seal 122 

Seventh  Seal 137 

Sealing  God's  Servants..  131 

Second    Coming    of    the 

Lord  281 


TOPIC  PAGE 

Septiform    Law    in    the 

Scripture 345 

Seven  Times  355 

Signs,  The  First 209 

The  Second  209 

The  Third 260 

Solar  and  Lunar  Domin- 
ion    342 

Temple  Measured  187 

in    Heaven 208 

The  Closing  of 261 

Thunders,  The  Seven 176 

Time 38,  341 

Times,  Seven 355 

Visions  Cease  335 

War  in  Heaven 215 

Winds,  First  140 

Second 143 

Third 145 

Fourth 147 

Witnesses,  The  Two 194 

Woman  and  the  Dragon.  207 
Woes 

Announcement 152 

First  156 

Second 164 

Third 282 


870 


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